经济学人:非洲的资金流转 转账市场(2)

 　　In central Lusaka, Misozi Mkandawire presides over an empire of kiosks. 在卢萨卡中心，Misozi Mkandawire 管理一家大型售货亭。

　　She started with Zoona while at college. 她在大学时就在Zoona开始做了。

　　Her profits can now reach 50,000 kwacha ($5,200) a month. 她的收益现在可达每月5万克瓦查（5200美元）。

　　That is exceptional. 这是一个特例。

　　Last year the average agent made $548 in monthly commission, before costs. 去年平均每个代理在去除成本之前，每月的佣金只有548美元。

　　Globally, nearly half of mobile-money agents have not processed a transaction for a month; 97% of Zoona agents do so every day. 从全球范围来看，几乎有一半的移动货币代理商一个月内都达不成一个交易；但在Zoona每天都有97%的代理商达成交易。

　　The right location helps. 地利相助。

　　Zoona puts its lime-green booths in canny¹ places, like markets, bus stations and even a hospital. Zoona 机智地把它石灰绿的货摊放在像市场，公交站，甚至医院这样的地方。

　　They are often flanked by booths for Airtel and MTN, two phone companies offering similar services. 他们货摊两侧还经常有Airtel a和 MTN这两家提供相似业务的电话公司的货摊。

　　Zoona is not the cheapest—the sender pays about 10% on small transactions—but competes on coverage² and reliability³:  Zoona 并不是最便宜的—寄件人在一项小笔交易中要付10% 费用— 但是以其覆盖率和可信度取胜：

　　for example, ensuring its agents have enough float to cash large amounts. 比如，保证他的代理有充足的备用零钱来兑换大量现金。

　　Last year Zoona raised $15m from investors⁴. 去年，Zoona 从投资者哪里筹到了1500万美元。

　　Its outlets⁵ now dot streets in Malawi and Mozambique, and it has plans for the Democratic Republic of Congo. 它的经销店现在遍布马拉维和莫桑比克的街道，它还计划在刚果民主共和国开店。

　　Such “third-party” operators are also thriving elsewhere: Wari, in Senegal, is not just competing with phone companies, but buying one. 这种“第三方”经营公司也在各处大量发展：在塞内加尔的瓦里并不仅仅用电话公司竞争，还买了一家。

　　In most places mobile giants and a few banks still dominate, but maybe not for ever. 大多数地方，电话巨头和银行仍然占主导，但是可能再也不会了。

1 canny   

adj.谨慎的，节俭的

参考例句：

• He was far too canny to risk giving himself away.他非常谨慎，不会冒险暴露自己。
• But I'm trying to be a little canny about it.但是我想对此谨慎一些。

2 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

3 reliability   

n.可靠性，确实性

参考例句：

• We mustn't presume too much upon the reliability of such sources.我们不应过分指望这类消息来源的可靠性。
• I can assure you of the reliability of the information.我向你保证这消息可靠。

4 investors   

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

5 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》