Great Expectation in Shadow: Globalization and Young Chinese Entrepreneurs in Africa

As China’s economic power continues to globalize, more and more Chinese companies and people are going overseas to explore new opportunities. In contrast to the existing research that focuses on the overseas operations of Chinese companies or general immigration phenomena, this study focuses on an emerging group of young entrepreneurs in Africa. Based on three exemplary case studies, this paper attempts to explore these young people’s reasons for going to Africa, their strategies for coping with difficulties, and their gradually formed new lifestyles and self-awareness. The study finds that this group has a stronger “entrepreneurial spirit” than the domestic mobile population of the same age, which is also in the context of individualization, and thus shows a different process of individualization. The members of this group came to Africa with high expectations, used creative solutions to solve various problems in work and life, and dared to break traditions, building their life trajectories and self-understanding in continuous actions. Different from the previous immigrant groups, young entrepreneurs in Africa represent a new way for Chinese people to go out in the world in the era of globalization.