Uploaded on 2018-07-23 by Tomasz Koczur

The photo depicts the interior of a 6-7 storey market building on the area of Merkato in Addis Ababa - Africa's biggest market. Building in which one can sell almost only products imported from China was also built by a Chinese company. Although, from a perspective of a tourist gaze the building might look like rooted in the surroundings, referring to the dusty surroundings by earthly, red colour, a friend rooted in Addis described it as an alien structure. The first (data) component of globalised economy (CoGE) that it contains is the specialist knowledge and of its builders. The second CoGE is a symbol. Symbolically, but probably unintentionally, the construction of the building reflects the goods that are sold there- shoes, t-shirts and plastic products. Although it must not be the case of this particular building, in personal discucssions with Ethiopians it was often indicated, that Chinese companies making business in Ethiopia often try to keep as big part of the chain of production as possible within other Chinese companies. It suggests that also the structural elements could be a CoGE.