123: Chapter 123 Lobbying, Africans' Chinese Hearts

"Mr. Van Dijk, I have heard of your esteemed company ever since I arrived in Lagos," Mr. Adebayo offered a polite pleasantry.

The two sat down, and a waiter poured them red wine.

Mr. Van Dijk was in no hurry to discuss business, first chatting a bit about the weather and traffic in Lagos, as well as recent changes in the mobile phone market.

Mr. Adebayo didn't let the conversation die either, responding to each point, though his attitude wasn't particularly enthusiastic.

After the two had a few glasses of wine, Mr. Van Dijk set his glass down.

"Mr. Adebayo, I am South African, and you are Nigerian. Although we are not from the same country, we have one thing in common: we are both African."

Mr. Adebayo sobered up instantly upon hearing this, but he said nothing. As expected... the boss really is incredibly resourceful.

"The African market should be controlled by Africans." Mr. Van Dijk's tone became sincere, as if he possessed a natural 'logic buff.' "Transsion is a Chinese company; it is fine for them to come to Africa to do business and make money."

"But ultimately, Africa's internet, Africa's data, and Africa's users should belong to Africans. We cannot let a Chinese company hold all of our information security. This is not a good thing for our future development."

Mr. Adebayo did not speak, just watching him quietly. He wanted to know what exactly he was up to, and whether it would be exactly as his boss had guessed.

Mr. Van Dijk observed his reaction for a moment and continued with his reasoning.

"Naspers is the largest media group in Africa; we were born in Africa, and we love Africa. For the sake of better development in Africa, we want to work with your company to build up Africa's internet. But there is a prerequisite: information security must be in the hands of us Africans."

Mr. Adebayo was certain he understood his meaning; it was exactly as Mr. Huang and Mr. Shen had instructed. The other party was already impatient.

He picked up his wine glass and took a sip. This made Mr. Van Dijk opposite him even more anxious, his body language becoming quite uncoordinated. He seemed to want to speak again but was afraid that being too eager would let Mr. Adebayo guess his answer.

Fortunately, Mr. Adebayo did not keep him in suspense for too long and soon set down his glass: "Mr. Van Dijk, I have understood everything you said."

He picked up the Transsion phone nearby and turned it off... "But I have one question."

Mr. Van Dijk made a gesture of invitation and likewise turned off his own phone to express his sincerity. Mr. Adebayo's proactive act of turning off his phone also greatly delighted Mr. Van Dijk.

There was something to talk about. This person was still African and still had greed in his heart, so things would be easier to handle from here on out. As long as he could persuade this African general of Transsion, then Naspers' entry into companies like AfriLink would not be far off.

"Naspers is an African company, that is correct. But who is the major shareholder of Naspers?"

Mr. Van Dijk's expression changed slightly.

Mr. Adebayo continued: "I have checked. Your company's largest shareholder is the Public Investment Corporation of South Africa, authentic African capital that can also provide huge help to African enterprises. But the second-largest shareholder is a capital group from the United States, and the third-largest shareholder is Barclays Bank of England. How many Africans are there on your board of directors? Is your so-called 'for the sake of Africa' truly for our benefit, or is it for the United States capital behind you?"

Mr. Van Dijk did not answer.

Mr. Adebayo smiled, revealing a mouthful of white teeth. [Black man white teeth.jpg]

"Mr. Van Dijk, I am not questioning Naspers' African identity. I just want to say that lineage is not important; stance is what matters."

He stood up and looked through the window at the slums in the distance; even on this island, there were slums in the distance.

"I grew up on the streets of Lagos. My mother sold cassava cakes, and my father repaired bicycles for people. I started setting up a stall to sell mobile phones when I was 16, and I met Mr. Shen when I was 23."

There was a hint of gratitude and excitement in his eyes.

"Mr. Shen did not ask me where I was from; he asked me if I wanted more Africans to be able to use mobile phones."

Mr. Van Dijk also fell into silence. Transsion's brainwashing, or rather, the Chinese... How long has it been? This person has already forgotten his own stance; he is African... and now he has already forgotten the land that raised him.

"I am now the President of Transsion's Africa region, managing 27 countries. Including both formal and informal employees, there are over 50,000 people in total, and our projected sales in Africa this year are 30 million units. We have also hired over 2,000 Mauritians, built Transsion's first overseas factory there, and established the first training school there."

There was no excitement in Mr. Adebayo's voice; he just wanted to persuade the other party.

"Mr. Van Dijk, you say that the African market should belong to Africans. Then please tell me, would Africans do these things? Hasn't Transsion done more than most, especially Naspers? In my view, enterprises have no stance; as long as their hearts are directed towards this country, then they are local enterprises. Just like me, although I am an African, I have a Chinese heart."

[Mr. Adebayo: Because of me, my family is living a good life, and even my dog has become the captain of the security team's police dogs. Stance...]

The room was quiet for a long time. Mr. Van Dijk picked up his wine glass and swirled it, drinking slowly. This sentence from Mr. Adebayo truly left him not knowing what to say...

Naspers has invested in many companies and has also built some industries in its own country, but in other countries... they have not been this kind.

However, is Transsion really that charitable? As far as he knows, most of those 50,000+ employees are part of the security team. Externally, these people protect property and prevent the Tanzania incident from happening again, but what is Transsion's true purpose? They have a bold guess internally.

As he was thinking, he swirled his wine glass. When he subconsciously brought the glass to his lips, he found that there was no more red wine in it.

"Mr. Adebayo," he said, "you have convinced me."

He set down the wine glass and looked at this rapidly growing young man opposite him.

"But I did not come here today to debate; Naspers really wants to cooperate with Transsion. We see the growth of companies like AfriLink, and we are willing to offer any conditions—equity, resources, channels, connections—as long as you ask."

Mr. Adebayo shook his head. "Mr. Van Dijk, you have found the wrong person."

Mr. Van Dijk frowned again. He had spoken to this extent; this clever person opposite him should be able to understand the meaning behind his words.

"I am only responsible for selling mobile phones. Matters regarding AfriLink and Afro Chat are all managed by our major shareholder, Huaxin Investment."

Mr. Adebayo left the window and sat back down on the sofa. "I am just an employee."

Mr. Van Dijk immediately leaned over, sat beside him, and personally poured him a glass of red wine.

"That is your opinion; Shen Fei will listen. You are the person he trusts most. Believe me, Naspers entering these companies is not a bad thing. We will not interfere with normal operations; instead, we will provide better assistance to help these companies grow faster. And with our connections, we can also help it enter the IPO stage better, and we can all obtain more benefits."