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2021年经济学人 移动支付公司在非洲疯狂抢地盘

时间:2021-12-29 02:19:26

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(单词翻译)

Finance and Economics

财经版块

Payments in Africa

非洲的支付手段

Turf wars

地盘之战

Fintech firms vie for domination

金融科技公司争夺统治地位

The payments frenzy1 is going global, and Africa is catching2 the bug3.

支付狂潮正在全球范围内蔓延,非洲也赶上了。

So far this year four of the continent's financial-technology firms have reached or exceeded billion-dollar valuations, more than doubling Africa's population of "unicorns4".

今年到目前为止,非洲大陆的四家金融科技公司的估值已经达到甚至超过了10亿美元,是非洲“支付独角兽”两倍多。

OPay, a mobile-payments company, acquired its horn in August, after raising funding from investors6 including SoftBank, a Japanese firm.

Opay是一家移动支付公司,在从日本软银公司等投资者那里筹集资金后,于8月份收获了它的“角”。

Other recent unicorns include Wave, a Senegal-based startup that runs a mobile-money network; Chipper Cash, which offers peer-to-peer payments; and Flutterwave, which simplifies payments for businesses.

独角兽俱乐部的其他公司有:运营移动货币网络的塞内加尔初创公司Wave;提供P2P支付的Chipper Cash;以及简化企业支付的Flutterwave。

As foreign investment pours in, Africa's fintech firms are expanding both across the continent and into new services.

随着外国投资的涌入,非洲的金融科技公司正在整个非洲大陆扩张,并拓展到新的服务领域。

Africa is an obvious choice for fintech investors.

对于金融科技投资者来说,非洲显然是一个不错的选择。

They are betting that young African talent can innovate7 its way out of the region’s most pressing financial problems faster than legacy8 firms can.

他们相信,非洲的年轻人才可以比传统公司更快地创新,摆脱该地区最紧迫的金融问题。

By 2025 the continent will be home to 1.5bn people, most of whom will have grown up in the era of the internet.

到2025年非洲大陆将拥有15亿人口,其中大多数人将成长于互联网时代。

Nigeria, which has received almost two-thirds of Africa's fintech investments this year, has a young and entrepreneurial population.

尼日利亚今年获得了近三分之二的非洲金融科技投资,拥有一批年轻的企业家。

But more than half of Nigerians do not have a bank account.

但超过一半的尼日利亚人没有银行账户。

Across the continent, digitally literate9 unbanked (and underbanked) people, who have long been largely ignored by conventional lenders, are instead turning to the upstarts.

在整个非洲,长期以来被传统银行忽视的没有银行账户(或信贷不足)的人,现在正转向新兴市场。

In Ivory Coast, for example, 94% of pupils' school fees were being paid using mobile money by 2014.

例如到2014年,科特迪瓦94%的学生学费是使用移动支付提交的。

This makes it fertile territory for companies like Wave, which moved into the country in April.

科特迪瓦对于Wave这样的移动支付公司来说就是一块沃土,Wave于4月份进入科特迪瓦。

One reason for firms to expand geographically10 stems from the African Continental11 Free Trade Area, a deal that was first agreed on in 2018 and which has now been ratified12 by 38 countries.

企业扩大地域范围的原因之一是2018年签订的非洲大陆自由贸易区协议,目前该协议已得到38个国家的批准。

The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System was launched in September as part of the deal, in order to make the region's many systems work better together.

协议中的泛非支付和结算系统于9月份启动,目的是让该地区的许多系统更好地协同工作。

As a consequence, investors are backing firms with ambitions that extend beyond their home countries.

因此,投资者们正在支持那些雄心勃勃向海外扩张的公司。

Flutterwave had reached more than 33 African countries by the time of its latest funding round this year; those taking part included Tiger Global, an investment firm based in New York.

截至今年最近一轮融资时,Flutterwave已经覆盖了33个非洲国家;参与融资的公司包括总部位于纽约的投资公司老虎环球(Tiger Global)。

For the biggest African fintechs, simple payments are only an entry point.

对于非洲最大的金融技术公司来说,简单支付只是一个切入点。

OPay was founded three years ago and was once a ride-hailing app.

Opay成立于三年前,曾是一款叫车软件。

It now offers interest-free credit that is easier for workers in informal jobs to get than bank loans.

它现在为无正式工作的工人提供无息信贷,比去银行要容易得多。

The firm, now worth around $2bn, is about as valuable as Nigeria's biggest bank.

该公司目前价值约20亿美元,与尼日利亚最大的银行价值相当。

Chipper Cash, which is backed by Jeff Bezos, the founder13 of Amazon, is taking its vision beyond Africa.

由亚马逊创始人杰夫·贝佐斯支持的Chipper Cash正将目光投向非洲以外地区。

It lets Nigerians in Britain send money home instantly, and could revolutionise transfers in sub-Saharan Africa, which has some of the highest remittance14 costs in the world.

它可以让在英国的尼日利亚人立即汇款回家,并可能彻底改变撒哈拉以南非洲地区的汇款方式,该地区的汇款成本是世界上最高的。

Banks may not be the only incumbents15 feeling threatened by the newcomers.

银行可能不是唯一感受到新兴公司威胁的机构。

In some cases telecoms providers, which also provide mobile money, are drastically lowering their fees as competition in payments hots up.

在某些情况下,随着支付领域的竞争加剧,提供移动支付服务的电信提供商正在大幅降低费用。

The battle leaves regulators struggling to control an industry that is rapidly evolving.

这场战斗让监管机构难以控制这个快速发展的行业。

Wave is moving through the continent at pace, and is now available in four countries.

Wave在非洲大陆快速发展,目前已在四个国家推出。

Despite a bumper16 year, Africa's biggest startups are still relatively17 young compared with those in the rest of the emerging world.

尽管今年是丰收的一年,但与其他新兴市场相比,非洲最大的初创企业仍然相对年轻。

Getting payments right in such a large market could unlock a wealth of opportunity.

在这样一个巨大的市场上进行支付推广可以创造大量的机会。

Iyin Aboyeji, a co-founder of Flutterwave and an investor5, says international venture capitalists are realising that Africa "looks a little bit like China in the 1970s.

伊茵·阿博耶吉是Flutterwave的联合创始人和投资人,他说,国际风险资投资家正在意识到非洲“看起来有点像20世纪70年代的中国。

Folks are hoping to get in early and do some good deals."

资本家们都希望早点入驻,做些好买卖。”

The emergence18 of rigorous cross-continental competition this year shows that African fintech is nonetheless maturing, and that the world is at last beginning to pay attention.

今年出现的激烈的跨洲竞争说明非洲的金融科技正在趋于成熟化,世界终于开始关注了。


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1 frenzy jQbzs     
n.疯狂,狂热,极度的激动
参考例句:
  • He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
  • They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。
2 catching cwVztY     
adj.易传染的,有魅力的,迷人的,接住
参考例句:
  • There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
  • Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。
3 bug 5skzf     
n.虫子;故障;窃听器;vt.纠缠;装窃听器
参考例句:
  • There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
  • The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。
4 unicorns 02d8c4ac323c5df679077f020f170453     
n.(传说中身体似马的)独角兽( unicorn的名词复数 );一角鲸;独角兽标记
参考例句:
  • Unicorns are legendary beasts. 独角兽是传说里的野兽。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Assemble50 Elder Druids, 30 Silver Unicorns and10 Green Dragons do defend it. 募集50个德鲁伊长老,30只银色独角兽和10条绿龙用于防御。 来自互联网
5 investor aq4zNm     
n.投资者,投资人
参考例句:
  • My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
  • The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。
6 investors dffc64354445b947454450e472276b99     
n.投资者,出资者( investor的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
  • a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会
7 innovate p62xr     
v.革新,变革,创始
参考例句:
  • We must innovate in order to make progress.我们必须改革以便取得进步。
  • It is necessary to innovate and develop military theories.创新和发展军事理论是必要的。
8 legacy 59YzD     
n.遗产,遗赠;先人(或过去)留下的东西
参考例句:
  • They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
  • He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。
9 literate 181zu     
n.学者;adj.精通文学的,受过教育的
参考例句:
  • Only a few of the nation's peasants are literate.这个国家的农民中只有少数人能识字。
  • A literate person can get knowledge through reading many books.一个受过教育的人可以通过读书而获得知识。
10 geographically mg6xa     
adv.地理学上,在地理上,地理方面
参考例句:
  • Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe. 从地理位置上讲,英国处于欧洲边缘。 来自辞典例句
  • All these events, however geographically remote, urgently affected Western financial centers. 所有这些事件,无论发生在地理上如何遥远的地方,都对西方金融中心产生紧迫的影响。 来自名作英译部分
11 continental Zazyk     
adj.大陆的,大陆性的,欧洲大陆的
参考例句:
  • A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
  • The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。
12 ratified 307141b60a4e10c8e00fe98bc499667a     
v.批准,签认(合约等)( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准,因此被宣布无效。
  • The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。
13 Founder wigxF     
n.创始者,缔造者
参考例句:
  • He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
  • According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说,罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。
14 remittance zVzx1     
n.汇款,寄款,汇兑
参考例句:
  • Your last month's salary will be paid by remittance.最后一个月的薪水将通过汇寄的方式付给你。
  • A prompt remittance would be appreciated.速寄汇款不胜感激。
15 incumbents 5672a9e1733f38c0bc40038b0d0b437b     
教区牧师( incumbent的名词复数 ); 教会中的任职者
参考例句:
  • In general, incumbents have a 94 percent chance of being reelected. 通常现任官员有94%的几率会再次当选。
  • This arangement yields a wonderful gain to incumbents. 这种安排为在职人员提供了意外的得益。
16 bumper jssz8     
n.(汽车上的)保险杠;adj.特大的,丰盛的
参考例句:
  • The painting represents the scene of a bumper harvest.这幅画描绘了丰收的景象。
  • This year we have a bumper harvest in grain.今年我们谷物丰收。
17 relatively bkqzS3     
adv.比较...地,相对地
参考例句:
  • The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
  • The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。
18 emergence 5p3xr     
n.浮现,显现,出现,(植物)突出体
参考例句:
  • The last decade saw the emergence of a dynamic economy.最近10年见证了经济增长的姿态。
  • Language emerges and develops with the emergence and development of society.语言是随着社会的产生而产生,随着社会的发展而发展的。

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