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"going to africa to make money" has become the latest ideal of young people. whether they work or start a business, it is the result of their rethinking of their current lives. what are the costs and rewards of the decision to "bravely venture into africa"?

author | elise

editor | teng yu

title picture | pexels

africa is a magical land, and almost every country has many legends about counterattacks in life: in addition to people who dug gold mines in africa and became rich overnight, there are also people who came to africa with debts and accumulated tens of millions of dollars by selling putty powder. , there are also people who came to africa with two boxes of sunglasses and exchanged them for a toyota overbearing car worth 500,000 yuan.

the 2024 forum on china-africa cooperation summit came to an end not long ago, but africa fever continues. on social media, many "non-drifting" young people are keen to share their "making money" life in africa: digging diamonds in the congo, panning for gold in ghana, west africa, doing logistics in algeria, mining in johannesburg, south africa, building houses in nigeria, selling mobile phones in ethiopia, working as a tour guide in egypt, etc.

nairobi, the capital of kenya, africa. (photo/pexels)

there are recruitment for overseas positions on waipai.com, foreign affairs office, and the websites of major state-owned enterprises. positions for expatriation in africa include electricians, chefs, translators, and sales. generally, a college degree or above is required, and the monthly salary range is mostly between 15,000 and 30,000. the money is rmb, and the company arranges food and accommodation. after working for two or three years, you can save a lot of money. "earning more" is the main reason why they yearn for africa.

as edward pace, director of the british institute of african studies, said, the world needs to start looking at africa and african countries again. "this will affect every aspect of our lives, whether we realize it now or not."

civil engineering graduate,

nanny and driver in africa

victor was born in chongqing in 1998 and graduated from chongqing institute of construction engineering. shortly after graduating from university, he went to work in africa. he worked in four completely different jobs in gabon, congo (drc), ethiopia and kenya.

now only 26 years old, he is already an experienced "non-piao".

when talking about the reason why he went to africa, victor attributed it to "youthful impulse". his first internship after graduation was to work on infrastructure construction in the desert of the uninhabited land in the northern junggar basin of xinjiang, where there were no tv or mobile phone signals. for a young man who had just graduated, those days were too boring.

one early morning, victor heard a creaking sound from outside the wooden house while sleeping: "the sound came from under the bed, so i put my head under the bed to look and found an animal that looked like a gerbil gnawing at me. the door panel. when i looked at it, i felt like this gerbil, and i wanted to go out and see the outside world, so i quit my job.”

victor was walking on the streets of tanzania with his colleague, who has now resigned. (photo/photo provided by interviewee)

within a month, victor found a job online to go to africa.

the person who offered him an olive branch was a chinese company in gabon, with a monthly salary of 9,000 yuan. victor didn't think much about whether the price was reasonable or how different it was from the rumored average monthly salary. regardless of the objections of his family, he bought a plane ticket and flew there.

victor believes that if young people are not too picky about jobs, working in africa is a good option, and the threshold is relatively low: "you don't even need to speak english, because the company will hire a translator for you."

the reality is not as easy and smooth as it seems. victor's first two jobs in africa were set in stone, and his impulse to escape from the last predicament and his excessive expectations gave him a blow. companies operating in gabon generally exploit students. “college students recruited from china work hard every day. they work from 7 a.m. to 8 or 9 p.m., but they are only paid below the average salary for such long hours. i only worked three jobs. i resigned within a few months and paid the company for the air tickets and visa.”

after failing in his first job in africa, victor originally wanted to return to china. but it was august 2021, and a ticket to return to china had risen to 30,000 to 50,000 yuan. he had no choice but to choose egypt, which had the cheapest air tickets at the time, and travel during his break from resignation.

since he couldn't afford a flight back to his country, victor went to egypt, where the air tickets were cheapest. after spending $25 for a visa on arrival, he took an uber directly to the giza pyramids. (photo/photo provided by interviewee)

in november 2021, victor received an offer from a company located in the democratic republic of congo, africa. this company was a contractor for a large domestic listed mining company. they needed a technician, so they took a fancy to victor, who had a background in civil engineering and had work experience in africa.

at this time, victor had been "wandering" aimlessly in egypt and north africa for two months. he agreed without much thought and fell into a new pit.

the working place was a copper mine in the democratic republic of the congo. after entering the site, victor found that the manpower was pitiful: "a few containers and a few young people, digging wherever the boss directed. this country has experienced a long civil war. the security situation is very chaotic, and we often hear gunshots in the distance even in broad daylight, so the skilled workers here do not dare to go anywhere and go to work as if they are in prison.”

the external environment was frightening. the boss still owed technical workers wages. the longest period was three months without food. victor finally couldn't stand it any longer. after working in this internally and externally difficult environment for six months, he once again proposed to resign. took his second job in africa. just like last time, victor did not return to china after resigning and continued to travel in surrounding countries. this time he went to türkiye first and then visited countries in the balkans.

victor's second job in africa was in a camp in the democratic republic of the congo. under the beautiful scenery, there is a turbulent situation hidden, which is always in danger. (photo/photo provided by interviewee)

ten days later, a chinese boss who opened a company in ethiopia contacted victor and asked him if he was willing to switch to the foreign trade industry. after passing the interview, victor went to ethiopia.

victor is very happy that he made this decision. the boss carefully guided him and allowed him to successfully switch from civil engineering to the foreign trade industry and start a new career.

in ethiopia, victor's daily working hours are from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. both his work and life pace are much smoother than the previous two jobs. ethiopia is safer and freer than all the countries victor has stayed in before. he also made many friends here and learned the general ideas about the basic procedures of foreign trade. life in ethiopia started to get easier once work got back on track.

in 2023, victor wants to return to china. at the same time, because his grandfather unfortunately got cancer, he knew that he had to change his status.

victor's third job, and the one he is most grateful for, was when he got an offer from a chemical trading company and went to ethiopia. the picture is of a factory floor. (photo/photo provided by interviewee)

after returning to china, victor began to think about new life choices: stay in china, or continue to go out? after struggling for five months, he received a european work plan, so he went to poland to work for two months. however, this short experience made him very disappointed. there were many unfair treatments and the benefits promised by the company were not good enough. not implemented. he resigned again and also compensated the company for air tickets and visa expenses.

every stereotype must be changed by specific experiences. this short working experience in poland made victor disenchanted with europe: "before going there, i imagined that europe, as a more developed place, would be more civilized and more comfortable than i felt in africa? in fact, it's quite the opposite."

when he returned to china in 2023, victor also tried to find a job in china, but the salary offered by many companies for civil engineering-related positions was only 3,500 yuan, which victor could not accept. so he once again set his sights on africa, and this time he found a chinese sanitary ware company located in kenya, africa.

the first week back in africa was during the christmas holiday, and the company organized a trip to the national park to see animals. (photo/photo provided by interviewee)

when he returned to africa again, victor described it as "just like going home": "several of my chinese colleagues in kenya all had completely different experiences. some of them failed to start their own businesses in africa after graduating from melbourne institute of technology. we are engaged in the auto parts business in china, and some people came to africa because of introductions from relatives. people with all kinds of experiences finally gathered in africa to make sanitary ware products.”

in his fourth year in africa, victor's income increased from the initial monthly salary of 9,000 yuan to nearly 300,000 yuan a year. the company has a nanny and a driver, and the black nanny can also cook authentic chinese food. what makes victor most emotional is that more and more chinese people are going to africa now, and he no longer feels that he is a lonely outlier: "when i flew from china to africa in 2021, only half of the people on the plane were chinese and half were black people. when i go to africa again in 2023, almost the entire cabin is filled with chinese people. "a while ago, he discovered that the customs at the tanzania airport actually hired customs officials who can speak chinese, because many chinese workers in construction companies cannot come to africa. speak english.

chinese food cooked by a black nanny. (photo/photo provided by interviewee)

victor has reconciled with his father who strongly opposed his going to africa four years ago. one of the advantages of living and working in africa is that the people here are less sophisticated and you are less likely to be tied down and restricted.

victor recently hired two salesmen from china, but they only lasted two weeks and couldn't stay any longer. in victor's view, many young people come to africa in a similar situation to his own, impulsively wanting to change the status quo, but unable to accept the environment here after arriving. victor doesn’t want young people to come to africa with the filter of “earning money” or looking for novelties. after all, he has been through a lot of pitfalls, but he also believes that many things can only be disenchanted by experiencing them. he suggested that young people who plan to come to africa for development should do their homework, think carefully, and avoid falling into the same trap as him.

when you reach middle age, you quit your job naked to start a business in africa

unlike victor, who just graduated from university and went to africa at a young age, zhang xiaoya, a middle-aged media person, chose to start a business in africa only after quitting his job.

zhang xiaoya is from northeast china. after graduating in 2010, she worked for the provincial media in her hometown for 12 years. in 2022, she chose to resign and came to shenzhen to work in corporate culture at transsion.

because it is firmly tied to africa and has created a rather alternative wealth myth, transsion has been very topical in recent years. transsion, headquartered in shenzhen, china, is one of the earliest domestic companies to focus on emerging markets such as africa, south asia, and southeast asia. after zhang xiaoya joined the company, she began to really care about this continent 8,000 kilometers away.

zhang xiaoya's first trip to africa was in september 2023, and her destination was nairobi, the capital of kenya. although this is one of the most developed cities in africa, public transportation is still very backward, power supply is tight, and there are power outages in the urban area every sunday. the buses in nairobi reminded zhang xiaoya of the buses in china in the 1990s: “someone would stand at the door and yell at everyone to buy tickets, which made it feel noisy. when taking a taxi, the gps positioning system may not be accurate, and it is clearly for the uber driver. the location is at the doorstep of his home, but he may follow the navigation to an intersection near his home.”

in supermarkets in kenya, the local currency is the kenyan shilling. (photo/photo provided by interviewee)

so far, zhang xiaoya has been to africa four times, visiting kenya, tanzania, and rwanda, and staying there for one to two months each time. according to her observation, africa today is almost the same as it was in china more than ten or twenty years ago, such as the dense outdoor advertising in cities: "in the eyes of local people, being able to do this kind of outdoor advertising proves that the business has strength and is more credible. , including newspapers and television, people don’t know enough about the internet and online life, and the content is not that rich.”

after repeated comparisons and inspections, zhang xiaoya registered an mcn company in kenya. she is better at online media. after a trip to africa, i discovered that the overseas version of short video social media has a very large coverage in kenya. but unlike the fierce competition among mcn institutions in china, there is no mcn company there yet. at the same time, she also found that many chinese companies going to africa also need local advertising resources. "i can build advertising resources first to serve chinese companies coming to africa."

the reason why she chose kenya among many african countries is mainly because the hardware can support the industry she chose: "that is the country with the best network in africa. the internet speed in other countries is really worrying." kenya is inferior to those above. the poor african countries are not outstanding among east african countries, but they are okay among sub-saharan african countries. its capital, nairobi, is the largest city in africa and a bustling international metropolis. after comprehensive consideration, zhang xiaoya judged that this was enough to support her dream.

zhang xiaoya said that all walks of life in the country, including her media industry, have been affected. whether it is traditional media or mcn model companies, it is difficult to achieve a qualitative breakthrough no matter how hard they work in the country. but in africa, this is a newly opened market: "there are few competitors, and i think there is a greater chance of leapfrogging here."

wholesale markets in kenya. (photo/photo provided by interviewee)

the chinese who had the same idea as her started to set off. in just two years, zhang xiaoya clearly felt that more and more chinese people are going to africa, and they can see compatriots wherever they go: "before, except for chinatown, you could not see chinese people, even in the busiest places. wholesale market.”

in kenya, zhang xiaoya recruited a local employee. after graduating from university, he worked at a tv station in nairobi as a producer. zhang xiaoya offered him a monthly salary of us$1,000, which is much higher than the average income of local people. even so, this salary is lower than the average salary for hiring a chinese person locally. zhang xiaoya did the math: "for the company, the cost of hiring chinese employees is much higher than hiring a local. it costs about 50,000 yuan just to apply for a work visa."

zhang xiaoya recruited local employees in kenya. (photo/photo provided by interviewee)

at the same time, she found that the workplace culture differences between china and africa are also very big: "native africans do not work overtime. they stick to their own pace of life. after get off work, they feel very happy when they have a beer with friends in the evening. but in china, it’s impossible. so i don’t think we can ask them to think like we do. this is a life choice, not laziness.”

moreover, zhang xiaoya feels that when most chinese people come to the hot land of africa, they will have the urge to struggle, otherwise "there must be more pain than happiness."

africa does not support idlers

in addition to attracting chinese workers, africa also attracts chinese private entrepreneurs to invest. there is a saying among them: if you don't go to sea, you will be out.

zhang haichao is the person in charge of china commercial overseas high-end business industry platform and has taught in universities for many years. from 2023 to now, he has taken more than 100 business school students to africa for inspections, mainly in several countries such as kenya, ethiopia, rwanda and tanzania. "they have money, but they feel a sense of crisis at home and hope to find good projects in africa."

zhang haichao is in dodoma, the capital of tanzania. (photo/photo provided by interviewee)

zhang haichao’s students are mainly private entrepreneurs from south china. starting in july 2023, zhang haichao has successively taken students on overseas inspections: "the way out for china's private enterprises in the future is to become international. after excluding the five countries in southeast asia and central asia, we set our target in africa."

going to africa for the first time left a deep impression on zhang haichao. perhaps because he had too deep a stereotype about this land in the past and had too little understanding of it, zhang haichao, like many chinese who first arrived in africa, felt the biggest contrast and shock: “the africa i imagined was chaotic and backward. after i went there, i i found that their cities are now beautifully built, with high-rise buildings, some large-scale industrial parks and beautiful factories.”

nairobi, the capital of kenya, africa. (photo/pexels)

zhang haichao believes that as more and more investments are pouring into africa, all walks of life will benefit from this, and the demand for jobs will also increase. prices here are much higher than in china, and costs are also much higher. currently, all investments in africa have certain thresholds. only by having certain technical and financial strength, being able to do professional work well and making good products in africa in a down-to-earth manner, and supplying domestic wisdom and technology where there is demand in africa, can we achieve long-term development: " it’s not like you can start from scratch with just a schoolbag, a plane ticket, and $200 left. the probability of getting rich in africa still exists, but we have no way of verifying it.”

young entrepreneurs born in the 1980s account for the majority of the students who went to africa for inspection. some of them are engaged in the real estate industry, manufacturing, and making furniture, doors and windows. in zhang haichao's view, this group of people all have similar labels - "dare to fight and dare to fight": "when they see an opportunity, they have an impulse in their hearts and want to seize this opportunity to do things well, so as to get a good result.”

urban transportation in central africa. (photo/pexels)

zhang haichao thinks this is a very good idea for the increasing number of young people who want to go to africa to "make money". he believes that the reason why chinese young people can have employment opportunities in africa is closely related to chinese companies going overseas: "going abroad is a trend, not only for young people, but also for many chinese private companies. local companies in africa are very there are very few chinese companies hiring, and those hiring chinese people are basically chinese companies in africa.”

he believes that young people should actively pay attention to and embrace the overseas expansion of industries, and follow the footsteps of chinese private enterprises to go global. 2024 is the year when the trend of going overseas to africa is very obvious. many years later, when economists review this period of history, there will definitely be traces of a deep connection with africa. it was caused by many specific people abandoning their familiar lives and measuring with their footsteps. and written traces.