Dr. Marie Huber receives ERC Grant: Revolutionary research on African industry!

Dr. Marie Huber receives ERC Grant: Revolutionary research on African industry!

Dr. Marie Huber, a prominent economic historian at the University of Marburg and at the Center Marc Bloch, was recently awarded the prestigious ERC Starting Grant. This European Union funding program aims to support aspiring researchers in their innovative projects. Huber's project entitled "Manufacturing Modernity in Africa" ​​(MAGIC) is funded with 1.5 million euros and is expected to carry out a detailed investigation of the long-term history of Bata shoe factories in the African countries of Kenya, Malawi and Zimbabwe from September 2026.

What is special about Huber's research is the focus on the development of these factories from the 1940s to the year 2000. The Bata shoe factories, which emerged during the late colonial period in Limuru, Blantyre and Gweru, have so far remained largely unexplored in terms of their concrete impact on people and societies. Huber intends to challenge the stereotypical image of Africa as a purely resource-rich region and highlight the importance of consumer goods factories, using the interdisciplinary approach of historical anthropology, global history and quantitative economic analysis, such as LinkedIn reported.

Research objective and context

A central focus of the project is to systematically examine the long-term impacts of manufacturing in Africa. Historically, development discussions often focus on resource extraction, while the importance of consumer goods factories is largely neglected. This research is crucial as it not only provides access to corporate archives spanning over 60 years, but also provides important insights for development policy. It becomes clear that there is a need to rethink outdated assumptions about African economies and to focus on the practical aspect of industrialization.

Huber is supported in her work not only by the Center Marc Bloch and the Tomas Bata Foundation, but also by the Philipp University of Marburg, where she is building the methodological foundations of her research. Your team will address the social and economic impacts of the Bata factories over five years. This comprehensive analysis could help shape contemporary economic development strategies with a focus on diversifying the economy and promoting regional integration.

227 million people and the HDI

The economic environment in Africa is influenced by numerous factors, including high dependence on raw material exports and the fact that many countries are classified as “least developed”. The Human Development Index (HDI) shows that 39 of the bottom 50 countries in 2021 were African, including static challenges, with a focus on improving basic needs, social services and infrastructure, such as the Federal Agency for Civic Education turns out. An outstanding goal of the MAGIC project could be to shed light on influencing factors that can contribute to improving living conditions in these countries.

Given that 40 percent of the world's population lives in the four most populous African countries - Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt and the Democratic Republic of Congo - research on a key industry like footwear offers perspectives on future economic challenges and opportunities. The importance of a solid foundation for the development of consumer goods is often ignored in discussions about the African economy.

Dr. Huber, who previously led a DFG-funded project on the history of aviation in Africa and has been working on a project on foreign trade and security, including German economic relations with post-colonial countries, since 2023, sees her new research project as an opportunity to expand professional understanding of Africa's role in global production and economic change. Her academic career began early as she not only built up her qualifications but also started a family. Their work promises to provide a valuable resource for future studies of economic development in Africa.