Africa Attracting Hi-Tech Companies-英语听力

[00:00.10]From VOA Learning English, [00:02.59]this is the Technology Report. [00:06.03]Africa has become a growing market [00:09.91]for high technology products, [00:12.66]and it may soon be a base for a lot more hi-tech companies. [00:18.83]Experts are predicting growing competition on the continent [00:23.96]as it tends to meet the needs of its young [00:27.85]and middle class populations. [00:31.18]DHL calls itself the "logistics company for the world," [00:37.06]it provides transportation by train, road, sea and air. [00:44.34]The company sees Africa as a place where its business can expand. [00:50.41]But for that to happen, more international companies [00:55.00]will need to invest in the continent and set up operations there. [01:01.07]Sumesh Rahavendra of DHL sees that happening. [01:06.65]"There's quite a bit of evidence to that in terms of [01:09.44]global companies starting to set up base in Africa. [01:12.97]If you look at the likes of SAP or IBM or Hisense, [01:17.36]which is the Chinese company, [01:18.91]all of them are setting base in Africa [01:21.16]and looking at how specifically they can cater [01:23.86]to the Africa market while being in Africa, [01:26.00]as against getting to the African market [01:27.79]while being in Europe or the Middle East." [01:29.93]Sumesh Rahavendra is the company's head of marketing [01:34.06]for African countries south of the Saharan desert. [01:38.31]He says the area offers a lot of possibility, [01:43.47]and in his words, [01:45.66]could be the next frontier for technology growth. [01:50.29]"I travel a fair bit around Africa [01:53.37]and so does the rest of our team [01:54.77]and you can see the technology boom literally [01:57.86]across every country in Africa. [02:00.75]People who never had access to a desktop PC [02:05.58]are now playing around with tablets [02:07.72]– are now playing around with smart phones. [02:09.53]The level and speed of adoption has been significant [02:13.86]as more middle class and upper middle class consumers [02:17.79]in Africa get access to technology." [02:19.78]He describes the continent's one billion people [02:23.36]as a largely untouched market for many products. [02:28.94]"The majority of people are young people. [02:30.64]And with a young population that's going to adopt technology [02:34.88]and commodities in the future, [02:37.17]it represents a significant potential [02:39.01]for any international company coming to Africa." [02:41.45]DHL has been operating in Africa for more than 35 years. [02:47.44]And Mr Rahavendra notes as more and more companies [02:52.17]set up operations on the continent, [02:55.26]business for DHL increases. [02:58.30]He says, there are possibilities for growth [03:02.48]in every African country, [03:05.11]although some appear more ready than others. [03:08.81]"One of the reasons why it's hard to do business [03:12.10]in African countries is just infrastructure and logistics. [03:15.24]Because the cost of actually getting your product [03:17.92]to its final place inflates it significantly [03:20.32]because there are so much infrastructural challenges [03:22.81]that isn't getting you there. [03:24.30]Second example is there are a fair bit of issues [03:27.60]with political climate in some African countries. [03:29.94]The good news is signs all indicate [03:32.77]towards a positive story going forward next five to ten years." [03:36.80]DHL says Africa is now the world's second largest [03:41.73]mobile technology market by connections after Asia, [03:46.02]and it is the fastest growing mobile market in the world. [03:51.56]And that's the Technology Report from VOA Learning English. [03:57.24]I'm June Simms.