VOA慢速英語:Africa Attracting Hi-Tech Companies

08 September, 2013

From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report.

Africa has become a growing market for high technology products, and it may soon be a base for a lot more hi-tech companies. Experts are predicting growing competition on the continent as it tends to meet the needs of its young and middle class populations.

DHL calls itself the "logistics company for the world,"it provides transportation by train, road, sea and air. The company sees Africa as a place where its business can expand. But for that to happen, more international companies will need to invest in the continent and set up operations there.

Sumesh Rahavendra of DHL sees that happening.

The 10-inch model of Samsung Electronics Company’s new Galaxy Tab 3 series tablet computer. Such devices are growing in popularity in Africa.

"There's quite a bit of evidence to that in terms of global companies starting to set up base in Africa. If you look at the likes of SAP or IBM or Hisense, which is the Chinese company, all of them are setting base in Africa and looking at how specifically they can cater to the Africa market while being in Africa, as against getting to the African market while being in Europe or the Middle East."

Sumesh Rahavendra is the company's head of marketing for African countries south of the Saharan desert. He says the area offers a lot of possibility, and in his words, could be the next frontier for technology growth.

"I travel a fair bit around Africa and so does the rest of our team and you can see the technology boom literally across every country in Africa. People who never had access to a desktop PC are now playing around with tablets – are now playing around with smart phones. The level and speed of adoption has been significant as more middle class and upper middle class consumers in Africa get access to technology."

He describes the continent's one billion people as a largely untouched market for many products.

"The majority of people are young people. And with a young population that's going to adopt technology and commodities in the future, it represents a significant potential for any international company coming to Africa."

DHL has been operating in Africa for more than 35 years. And Mr Rahavendra notes as more and more companies set up operations on the continent, business for DHL increases. He says, there are possibilities for growth in every African country, although some appear more ready than others.

"One of the reasons why it's hard to do business in African countries is just infrastructure and logistics. Because the cost of actually getting your product to its final place inflates it significantly because there are so much infrastructural challenges that isn't getting you there. Second example is there are a fair bit of issues with political climate in some African countries. The good news is signs all indicate towards a positive story going forward next five to ten years."

DHL says Africa is now the world's second largest mobile technology market by connections after Asia, and it is the fastest growing mobile market in the world.

And that's the Technology Report from VOA Learning English. I'm June Simms.

From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report.

這里是美國(guó)之音慢速英語科技報(bào)道。

Africa has become a growing market for high technology products, and it may soon be a base for a lot more hi-tech companies. Experts are predicting growing competition on the continent as it tends to meet the needs of its young and middle class populations.

非洲已經(jīng)成為高科技產(chǎn)品一個(gè)持續(xù)增長(zhǎng)的市場(chǎng)，而且可能它很快會(huì)成為很多高科技公司的基地。專家們預(yù)測(cè)，隨著非洲趨向于滿足其年輕和中產(chǎn)階級(jí)人群的需求，競(jìng)爭(zhēng)會(huì)日益激烈。

DHL calls itself the "logistics company for the world," it provides transportation by train, road, sea and air. The company sees Africa as a place where its business can expand. But for that to happen, more international companies will need to invest in the continent and set up operations there.

DHL自詡為全球物流公司。該公司提供鐵路、公路、海上和空中運(yùn)輸。該公司認(rèn)為非洲業(yè)務(wù)可以做大。但要做到這點(diǎn)，需要有更多的國(guó)際公司在非洲投資并開展業(yè)務(wù)。

Sumesh Rahavendra of DHL sees that happening.

DHL公司的Sumesh Rahavendra認(rèn)為這正在發(fā)生。

"There's quite a bit of evidence to that in terms of global companies starting to set up base in Africa. If you look at the likes of SAP or IBM or Hisense, which is the Chinese company, all of them are setting base in Africa and looking at how specifically they can cater to the Africa market while being in Africa, as against getting to the African market while being in Europe or the Middle East."

他說，“依據(jù)很多全球性公司開始在非洲設(shè)立基地，有很多證據(jù)可以表明這點(diǎn)?？纯此紣燮展?SAP)、國(guó)際商業(yè)機(jī)器公司(IBM)和中國(guó)的海信公司(Hisense)，他們都在非洲設(shè)立基地，并考慮相對(duì)于在歐洲或中東進(jìn)入非洲市場(chǎng)，他們?cè)诜侵弈苋绾胃唧w地滿足非洲市場(chǎng)。”

Sumesh Rahavendra is the company's head of marketing for African countries south of the Saharan desert. He says the area offers a lot of possibility, and in his words, could be the next frontier for technology growth.

Sumesh Rahavendra是DHL公司撒哈拉以南非洲國(guó)家的市場(chǎng)營(yíng)銷主管。他說，該地區(qū)潛力無限，用他的話來說，可能是下一個(gè)科技發(fā)展的前沿。

"I travel a fair bit around Africa and so does the rest of our team and you can see the technology boom literally across every country in Africa. People who never had access to a desktop PC are now playing around with tablets – are now playing around with smart phones. The level and speed of adoption has been significant as more middle class and upper middle class consumers in Africa get access to technology."

他說，“我走遍了非洲大部分地方，我們團(tuán)隊(duì)的其他人也一樣，所以我們可以看到非洲各個(gè)國(guó)家真正的科技繁榮。沒碰過臺(tái)式機(jī)的人現(xiàn)在玩弄著平板電腦或智能手機(jī)。隨著非洲越來越多中產(chǎn)階級(jí)和上層中產(chǎn)階級(jí)消費(fèi)者接觸到科技，接納(新科技)的層次和速度也越來越顯著。”

He describes the continent's one billion people as a largely untouched market for many products.

他表示，對(duì)許多產(chǎn)品來說，非洲大陸的十億人口很大程度上是一片尚未開發(fā)的處女地。

"The majority of people are young people. And with a young population that's going to adopt technology and commodities in the future, it represents a significant potential for any international company coming to Africa."

他說，“大多數(shù)是年輕人。而年輕人未來會(huì)接納科技和產(chǎn)品，這對(duì)任何來非洲的公司來說都是巨大潛力。”

DHL has been operating in Africa for more than 35 years. And Mr Rahavendra notes as more and more companies set up operations on the continent, business for DHL increases. He says, there are possibilities for growth in every African country, although some appear more ready than others.

DHL公司已經(jīng)在非洲運(yùn)營(yíng)了超過35年。Rahavendra指出，隨著越來越多的公司在非洲設(shè)立基地，DHL公司的業(yè)務(wù)也有所增加。他說，非洲每個(gè)國(guó)家都有增長(zhǎng)的可能，雖然有些國(guó)家可能比其它國(guó)家準(zhǔn)備更充足。

"One of the reasons why it's hard to do business in African countries is just infrastructure and logistics. Because the cost of actually getting your product to its final place inflates it significantly because there are so much infrastructural challenges that isn't getting you there. Second example is there are a fair bit of issues with political climate in some African countries. The good news is signs all indicate towards a positive story going forward next five to ten years."

他說，“在非洲開展業(yè)務(wù)很難的原因之一是基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施和物流。因?yàn)楫a(chǎn)品鋪到終端的實(shí)際成本會(huì)大為增加，因?yàn)橛泻芏嗷A(chǔ)設(shè)施方面的挑戰(zhàn)讓你難以抵達(dá)。再者，一些非洲國(guó)家政治環(huán)境的問題很大。好消息是，未來五到十年各種跡象都朝著積極的方向發(fā)展。”

DHL says Africa is now the world's second largest mobile technology market by connections after Asia, and it is the fastest growing mobile market in the world.

DHL公司稱非洲目前是繼亞洲之后全球第二大移動(dòng)技術(shù)市場(chǎng)，也是全球增長(zhǎng)最快的移動(dòng)市場(chǎng)。