The story
One of the reasons for the formation of the German East Africa Company was politics occurring inside Germany. According to the Kolonialpolitischer Führer, German Imperialism was conceived in the 1850s when the growth of the economy due to industrialization caused German businessmen to look beyond Germany for business prospects. Later in the century, a newly unified Germany had to take a part in the exploration and expansion overseas if it were to be among the world's leading imperial powers. Being a large manufacturing country that both bought and sold goods, it had made sure its stake in resources was guarded. Gustav Schmoller, an economist, had a desire for a large naval fleet which was linked to this very idea of expanding the empire. Twenty million people were estimated to have moved to Germany from other countries in the 1900s, and the colonies would be a good place to hold some of the population. The leaders of the country made an effort to show the German people how the industry and its workers prospered from German imperialism.
The wealth that could be gained from Africa sparked interest from Germany. The African colonies were where natural resources and consumers could be found. Hunting wild animals was a popular sport at the turn of the century, and Africa had this to offer. Products available from Africa were important imports to Germany, and one view of the era was that the most important resource of Africa was the native people. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Amani Research Institute in the Usambara Mountains became an important centre for agricultural and botanical research. Reginald Moreau, Adolf Engler and other German scientists wrote important publications on the area's plant and animal life.
From Wikipedia’s article on German East Africa Company, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4