African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1615 Technological Revolution

This is a typical example of how politics and military power safeguard the economy. In the Northern Hemisphere, the areas that East Africa can cover and influence are mainly the Middle East, North Africa, and West Africa.

East Africa's core territory lies south of the 12th parallel north. South of the 12th parallel north, East Africa's military and political influence surpasses that of any other country in the world.

For example, Colombia is at the forefront of the competition between East Africa and the United States in Latin America, and the northernmost latitude of Colombia is approximately 12 degrees north latitude. The city of Gezira at the northernmost tip of East Africa is also at approximately 12 degrees north latitude, and the Gulf of Aden, in the southern part of the Red Sea Passage, is traversed by the 12th parallel north...

It can be said that once a country in the Northern Hemisphere crosses the 12th parallel north, its military, diplomatic, and economic activities will inevitably be affected by East Africa.

East Africa, located within this line, holds absolute political, economic, and military advantages, and even extends into the South Pacific, given its numerous colonies in the region.

……

After the start of the Eighth Five-Year Plan, East Africa's economic development clearly hit a bottleneck. In the past, East Africa could learn from other countries and thus have a clear path for economic and industrial development.

However, East Africa no longer has a clear target to learn from and catch up with. During the Seventh Five-Year Plan period, East Africa could still target Germany's advantageous industries, but this weakness has become less obvious after the Seventh Five-Year Plan.

Of course, this refers to the current population of East Africa, not Ernst, who has experience from a previous life.

Following the summary meeting of the Seventh Five-Year Plan, Ernst shared some of his views with Crown Prince Frederick.

“East Africa’s development now is like wading through a river. In the 1920s, we could still feel our way forward, but now East Africa has entered the deep water zone.”

"If we want to move forward, we need to have countless explorers and sailors to try and find new routes for economic development, just like at the beginning of the Age of Exploration. In terms of the current situation in East Africa, what we can be clear about is to continue to steadily promote the electrification process."

Electrification is actually one of the hallmarks of the Second Industrial Revolution. East Africa itself is a representative country of the Second Industrial Revolution, and can even be said to be a leader. However, compared with Germany and the United States, East Africa mainly exerted its efforts in the second half of the Second Industrial Revolution.

This period, which is the beginning of the 20th century, coincides with the Second Industrial Revolution, which took place roughly from the late 19th to the early 20th century. Before the 19th century, East Africa did not stand out.

Countries that caught up with and seized the important opportunity of the Second Industrial Revolution generally fared quite well. Large countries that completed the Second Industrial Revolution basically maintained or became great powers, while smaller countries were represented by the Netherlands and Belgium.

Ernst said, "Now that the Second Industrial Revolution is basically complete in East Africa, the empire must make efforts in science and technology if it wants to lead the Third Industrial Revolution."

"Because from the First Industrial Revolution to the Second Industrial Revolution, the most important feature was the significant increase in the requirements for scientific theories and the quality of scientific researchers."

"During the First Industrial Revolution, artisans and technicians played a crucial role in technological breakthroughs, such as Watt and Stephenson in Britain. In contrast, scientists and engineers were more representative of the Second Industrial Revolution, such as Siemens, Edison, and Tesla."

"Many of the breakthroughs in the First Industrial Revolution came from empirical exploration, while the Second Industrial Revolution placed greater emphasis on theoretical guidance."

"Therefore, for the Empire, we must cultivate a more professional team of talents in the field of scientific research. In this process, the importance of the government will be further enhanced. For example, many of the country's key experiments and projects are organized by government departments."

Admittedly, the market can also contribute to scientific research, but at this stage, the government can play a greater role. This is a characteristic of the technological breakthroughs of the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II.

After all, large-scale projects like nuclear engineering and aerospace engineering require huge investments, a large number of skilled personnel, and it's difficult to find a profit point in the short term. Especially the last point—the market is most wary of such projects—often deters private capital.

This can actually be seen in the transition from the First Industrial Revolution to the Second Industrial Revolution. During the First Industrial Revolution, the government was basically not directly involved, while during the Second Industrial Revolution, the government directly became the guide, and even the leader and planner.

East Africa is a typical example of the latter, where the government directly leads the general direction of scientific research and development, actively guiding the direction of scientific and technological development through education, infrastructure, and standards setting.

In the previous life, during the Third Information and Technology Revolution, the government became a "strategic venture capitalist" in the high-tech field, directly investing funds and assuming early risks to lay the foundation for the entire country's innovation ecosystem.

In fact, East African governments are now playing this role, as have the Soviet Union and Germany.

Crown Prince Frederick understood this as well, saying, "Today, in the field of scientific research and education, it is estimated that only the Soviet Union manages it more strictly and comprehensively than we do."

"However, the Soviet Union's achievements were indeed remarkable, to the point that in recent years it has become the fastest-growing country in the world."

"Now, the Soviet Union has not only undergone a complete industrial transformation, but has also firmly established itself as one of the world's leading countries in breakthroughs in cutting-edge technologies, especially in engineering fields such as aerospace."

In its previous life, the Soviet Union was able to become the first country to go into space, which was by no means accidental. The Soviet Union itself was very well-suited to the development of such projects and industries. Even in the later Russian era, relying on the Soviet Union's legacy, Russia was still able to maintain a first-class level in the aerospace field.

Ernst said, "We have also implemented the Soviet economic development model in the past, so we are naturally very clear about its advantages and disadvantages. This development model was indeed very effective in the early stages, but it could not unleash the full potential of the whole society."

"I previously said that the government should play a greater role, but this does not mean completely ignoring the market. The two should be fully combined. The government's role is clear and unambiguous, while the market is more sensitive and can effectively test the application of some scientific research results to reality, thereby correcting the direction of scientific research and development and avoiding total failure due to going in the wrong direction."

"If the government's direction for technological development goes astray, the market may be our way out. We must maintain a proper balance. We should also encourage and support technological breakthroughs in the market or in the private sector."

"As for the government level, I have also summarized some key areas of development during the Eighth Five-Year Plan period. The first is materials. Breakthroughs in materials are the key area that can achieve major technological changes."

"For example, the First Industrial Revolution revolved around steel technology, which in turn promoted the development of industries such as steam engines, railways, and shipbuilding."

"The breakthroughs in materials science during the Second Industrial Revolution were even more crucial, such as in rubber, chemicals, and alloys, which laid a solid foundation for the development of technologies like automobiles and aviation, while also driving further changes in the military industry." "As for the Third Industrial Revolution, I still believe that breakthroughs in materials science are key, especially in the development of the electrical industry, as well as the nuclear industry, the aerospace industry, and even consumer industries like the textile industry."

"Therefore, in the third technological revolution, East Africa must continue to increase its investment in materials research and development."

"As for materials, the development of the semiconductor industry was also a key area for breakthrough during the Eighth Five-Year Plan period."

The theoretical foundation of semiconductor materials is now basically complete, but to truly realize them, time and patience are still needed. In the past, it wasn't until after World War II that major breakthroughs were achieved. Therefore, every step East Africa takes to make progress in semiconductor materials is difficult.

Currently, East Africa, as the country with the highest level of electrification in the world, is still struggling to develop semiconductor materials, and other countries are far behind East Africa.

"With reliable semiconductor materials, the empire can truly leap from the electrical age to the electronic age and realize the third technological revolution, finding a new path for economic and social development."

"Therefore, if the Empire wants to take the lead over other countries in this field, it would be best to achieve a breakthrough in semiconductor materials during the Eighth Five-Year Plan period, and we have a high chance of success."

East Africa began planning for breakthroughs in semiconductor materials as early as the 1920s, and established relevant laboratories and research teams. In recent years, it has achieved many results. Therefore, Ernst was very confident that the Empire would achieve a breakthrough in semiconductor materials during the Eighth Five-Year Plan period.

Crown Prince Frederick also had high hopes for this, after all, his understanding of semiconductor materials was quite profound, at least beyond that of most people of this era. The rulers of many countries probably had never even heard of this term.

He said, "I also hope that day will come soon, so that the Empire's development in the fields of computers and electronics can be completely transformed."

East Africa already possesses modern computers, and there are two paths to this: electromechanical computers and vacuum tube computers. However, computers in East Africa, like nuclear engineering and aerospace engineering, are highly classified projects, and the general public has virtually no access to them.

All these projects are subject to one limitation: the limitations of materials technology. Only if East Africa makes significant progress in materials science can these projects be accelerated and serve the real world.

Ernst said, "Besides those key classified projects, the aviation industry is also a key area for the Empire to develop during the Eighth Five-Year Plan period, and its economic value will be fully realized during the Eighth Five-Year Plan period."

"Now, in the field of large transport aircraft, as long as we can achieve a range of more than 7,000 kilometers, we can realize the huge economic benefits of this mode of transportation."

Why 7,000 kilometers? Because once this distance is exceeded, East Africa can fully realize the development of the transoceanic market in the aviation sector.

For example, air routes from East Africa to many cities in Southern Europe can now be completed directly without transit. Transoceanic routes to South America, Brazil, Argentina, the Middle East, South Asia, Australia, and other regions can also be established.

The straight-line distance from Rhine to Trieste, Rome, Istanbul, and Madrid is no more than 7,000 kilometers.

If it were an airport in northern East Africa, it could fly to many more cities and regions in Europe.

One of the key reasons for choosing Rhine as the center is the "airport" currently being built between Rhine, New Frankfurt, and Kabwe in East Africa. For inland cities in East Africa, aviation is a key area for future development, as inland areas lack the maritime advantages of coastal cities and are at a disadvantage in economic competition.

Therefore, if an airport can be successfully built connecting the three cities of Rhine and international routes can be opened as soon as possible, it will be of great significance to boosting the economy of the central provincial city cluster led by Rhine.

The key data point for opening international routes is 7,000 kilometers.

Ernst said, "Thanks to the Empire's geographical location in the world, it can be said that the Empire is one of the most suitable countries in the world to develop aviation."

"As long as the empire can achieve a range of over 7,000 kilometers for large transport aircraft, it will be able to convert international air routes into real revenue and open up new markets."

According to the most common world map, East Africa, or the African continent, is located at the "crossroads of the world," right in the middle of all the continents, making it a natural and ideal air transit hub.

The straight-line distance from East Africa to any other continent, even Antarctica, is no more than 10,000 kilometers.

Of course, for North America and the Far East, or even for eastern Australia and East Africa, traveling by air to these regions is still quite difficult, even if the flight distance exceeds 7,000 kilometers.

From Cameroon in East Africa to places outside Florida in the United States, or from the east coast of East Africa to the southern coast of the Far Eastern Empire, or even to cities in eastern Australia, the distances are all over 10,000 kilometers.

However, for East Africa at present, the most important thing is to establish direct air routes with Europe or South America as soon as possible, which would mean that East Africa would have another way to connect with these two places.

Ernst said, "Now, in the aviation industry, the Empire needs to break through the 7,000-kilometer limit as soon as possible. Whether it is using traditional propeller aircraft or eventually jet aircraft, it is acceptable. Of course, in the future, the Empire's skies will definitely be dominated by the latter."

"Moreover, the development of the aviation industry is closely related to the semiconductor industry we mentioned earlier. Only with breakthroughs in semiconductor materials that drive the miniaturization of electrical appliances can the development of the aviation industry create more market benefits, especially in the air cargo sector."

As we all know, the cost of air freight far exceeds that of traditional modes of transportation such as rail, road and sea. To achieve real profitability, we must seek products with high added value and preferably small volume.

Electronic products are the ideal cargo for air freight, which is why Ernst said that breakthroughs in semiconductor materials are related to the future development of air freight in East Africa. In this way, Rhine City will also have an additional source of income in its future industries.

After all, as the capital of East Africa, Rhine City's development plan prioritizes high-end industries, especially the electrical industry. Breakthroughs in semiconductor materials, which would usher East Africa into the electronic age, could allow the city to maintain its industrial advantages.

(End of this chapter)