Entrepreneurs in Africa: Hurdles for hubs
非洲企业家：中心障碍
The going is tough for African Tech-Hubs and startup incubators.
对于非洲的科技中心和新兴孵化器来说，前景艰难。
“You are either part of the solution or part of the problem,” it says in painted letters on a wall.
一堵墙上用油漆字写着：“你是解决方案的一部分或者是问题的一部分。”
“Stay hungry, stay foolish,” says the wall opposite.
对面墙上写着：“求知若饥，虚心若愚。”
An old rickshaw sits among beanbags and a vase of flowers rests on an ancient oil barrel in the corner.
一辆旧的人力车安放在豆袋坐垫间，角落有一瓶花放在古老的油桶上。
“We wanted the space to feel like Google,” says Eleni Gabre-Madhin, the founder of blueMoon, a new agribusiness incubator that opened in Addis Ababa in February, without a trace of irony.
在Addis Ababa二月新成立的一家农业综合企业孵化器——蓝月亮的创始人Eleni Gabre-Madhin说：“我们想要像谷歌那样的空间，”没有一丝讽刺之意。
Incubators and their cousins, accelerators, provide hands-on training and mentoring, and often a physical space, to help early-stage business ideas develop.
“孵化器”和他们的表兄弟加速器提供实际的培训和指导，往往是一个物理空间，以帮助发展早期的商业理念。
In Silicon Valley they find capital for startups and take a slice of equity in return for their services.
在硅谷，他们为创业公司寻求资本，并获得一部分股权作为他们服务的回报。
Ms Gabre-Madhin says that blueMoon draws inspiration from Y Combinator, an American accelerator founded in 2005 whose investees include Dropbox and Airbnb.
Gabre-Madhin女士说，蓝月亮从Y Combinator获得了灵感，Y Combinator是美国一家成立于2005年的加速器，该公司的投资包括了Dropbox(云服务系统)和Airbnb(爱彼迎短租网)。
The new firm's first cohort of startups will train at the office for four months, and it will give each a small cash injection in exchange for a 10% stake.
这家新公司的首批创业公司将在办公室培训四个月，并且它会向每个公司投入一小笔现金以换取10%的股份。
That is a rarity in Africa's startup scene.
这种创业场景在非洲十分罕见。
A simpler and more common model is for “tech hubs” to provide office space, some networking events and fast broadband internet.
“技术中心”是一个更简单和更常见的模式，它能够提供办公空间、一些网络活动和快速宽带互联网。
A recent survey counted over 300 such facilities on the continent.
最近的一项统计调查显示，非洲大陆上有着300多个这样的设施。
One of the first hubs was iHub in Nairobi, launched in 2010, which has an incubation arm focused on mobile technology, called m: lab.
iHub是内罗比的第一批中心之一，成立于2010年，iHub有一个主要集中在移动技术的孵化装备，称之为m:lab。
But m: lab, like many of its kind, is not a real incubator: it was founded with grant support from the World Bank and takes fees from, but not equity in, the companies that it nurtures.
但是和ihub许多类型一样，m:lab不是一个真正的孵化器，因为它是由世界银行资助成立，从其扶持的公司收费，而并不持有股份。
Becoming a proper incubator has proved tricky.
成为一个真正的孵化器非常困难的。
Hypercube in Zimbabwe closed in 2015 after operating for less than two years, having failed to find a sustainable business model.
因为没能找到一个可持续的商业模式，津巴布韦的超立方体中心经营不到两年就在2015年倒闭了。
A seed fund and incubator based in Nairobi called 88mph closed in 2015 after struggling along for four years; its Nigerian spin-off, 440. NG, was discontinued after the first cohort graduated—the return on capital to the founder was insufficient.
总部位于内罗毕的88mph种子基金和孵化器挣扎了四年后也在2015年关闭;因为第一批支持者的资本回报不足撤出，它的尼日利亚分部440.NG也被关闭。
Only one genuine incubator, Raizcorp in South Africa, is profitable without grant funding.
只有一个真正的孵化器是位于南非的Raizcorp，没有依靠补助资金而盈利。
Almost all are waiting for their first big payout.
几乎所有人都在等待他们的第一笔大支出。
Many incubators lack experienced mentors to guide young businesses.
许多孵化器缺乏经验丰富的导师指导年轻的企业。
In a country like Ethiopia, home to few internationally successful businesses, finding qualified staff is a headache.
像在埃塞俄比亚这样本土少有国际上成功企业的国家，找到有资历的员工是一个难题。
Even in more sophisticated Nigeria, mentors can be substandard.
即使在较为先进的尼日利亚，导师们也不合格。
Some actively harm young startups by, for example, pushing them into raising capital too early.
例如，一些导师鼓动初创公司过早筹集资金，对其造成了不利影响。
Just as entrepreneurs need decent mentors, incubators need good entrepreneurs if they are to make any money.
正如企业家需要有经验的顾问一样，孵化器要赚钱就需要好的企业家。
In Africa, says Nicolas Friederici of Oxford University, incubators have disappointed because they are a supply-side solution: there are still too few promising startups in need of their services.
牛津大学的Nicolas Friederici说，在非洲，孵化器因其只是提供解决方案而失望：因为需要他们服务的有前途的初创公司太少了。
Many of the best entrepreneurs have already left for other places.
许多最优秀的企业家已经离开去其他地方。
When Michael Oluwagbemi set up Wennovation Hub in Lagos in 2011, he found he had to teach wannabe entrepreneurs how to write applications and design websites before he could even launch the formal incubation programme.
2011年，当Michael Oluwagbemi在拉各斯建立Wennovation Hub时，他发现在他认为能推出正式孵化项目前，不得不教那些想成为企业家的人们如何编写应用程序和设计网站。
“The incubator in Africa is basically a finishing school and four months of it is not enough,” he says.
他说：“孵化器在非洲基本上是一所精修学校，四个月时间是不够的。”
重点词组：
1.oil barrel 油桶
例句:To keep warm they burnt wood in a rusty oil barrel.
他们在一只生锈的油桶里烧木柴来保暖。
2.mobile technology 移动技术
例句:Contemporary IT is increasingly a function of mobile technology, pervasive or ubiquitous computing, and of course, cloud computing.
当代的IT不断向移动技术、普遍存在的计算和云计算发展。
3.in exchange for 交换
例句:The trade unions bargained away their rights in exchange for a small pay rise.
工会不惜牺牲自己的权利以换取微薄的加薪。
4.a trace of 一丝
例句:His face was unmoved, but on his lips there was a trace of displeasure.
他脸上没有丝毫表情，但嘴角流露出一丝不悦。
5.business model 商业模式
例句:That is an example of a transformational business model.
这是一个具有变革意义的商业模式的例子。
6.set up 建立
例句:The two sides agreed to set up a commission to investigate claims.
双方同意组建一个委员会来调查那些索赔要求。
7.in need of 需要
例句:There was damp everywhere and the entire building was in need of rewiring.
到处都受了潮，整栋楼需要重新布线。
8.spin-off 副产品
例句:The company put out a report on commercial spin-offs from its research.
公司公布了一份有关其研究活动所产生的商业副产品的报告。
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