At work on safari

By Qiu Yijiao (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-09 10:42

Years of experience in Africa has won businessman He Liehui many good friends. Courtesy of He Liehui

When He Liehui first arrived in what he calls the "remote and mysterious continent" of Africa, he had just $700 and a container of T-shirts made at his father's factory in Zhuji, East China's Zhejiang province.

The college graduate didn't expect to be faced with a bill of $20,000 by Ghanaian officials to clear the consignment through customs.

The desperate young man finally got an idea from friends: Move the container into the bonded area, pay part of the fee to the customs officials in return for taking some T-shirts, sell them and pay off the rest of the money.

For three months, He took the T-shirts to major buyers and suppliers in Ghana and Nigeria. He sold all the T-shirts, but he didn't make any money. Even so, he was satisfied with his first adventure in Africa.

"Building a business network and gaining good knowledge of the market are more valuable than profit," He says.

Thanks to people like He, many African businessmen from countries like Nigeria and Botswana make Zhuji their first stop in China, while He helps out by giving them the information and contacts they need.

Ten years after He took T-shirts to Ghana, his business has been expanding and his company, Touchroad, established in 2002, is now the biggest Chinese company in Botswana.

He has led some 1,000 African businessmen and government officials to visit China, while encouraging his Chinese compatriots to set up there.

"Africa is attractive to businessmen because of its rich business opportunities, but personally speaking, Africa goes beyond that. I gained experiences I'd never imagined. It is my second home," He says.

When He got married in Zhuji, in 2004, officials from the Nigeria Embassy attended the wedding ceremony and gave him the title "Emir", for his business contributions to the African government, making him the second Chinese person to receive the honor.

He earned it.

In 2001, when He got an order from Nigeria for cloth, his hands shook when he found it was worth $700,000. As his family's garment factory couldn't complete the order in time, he had to outsource the business to several local manufacturing companies.

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