VOA慢速英语2011--Indonesia’s 'Technopreneurs' Help Fuel

Economics Report - Indonesia’s 'Technopreneurs' Help Fuel Economic Growth

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
Indonesia has one of the world's fastest growing economies, expanding at a rate of six percent this year. Technology is helping¹ fuel that growth, and producing a new generation of young entrepreneurs.
One of these "technopreneurs" is Nadiem Makarim. He graduated from the Harvard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts. He returned home and launched Go-Jek. This service connects motorcycle taxis, called ojeks, with people who need a ride or a delivery.
Go-Jek uses online maps, mobile phones and a call center. The aim is to improve Jakarta's disorganized motorcycle taxi system. Nadiem Makarim says everything depends on a business plan.
NADIEM MAKARIM: “If you want to do good, there needs to be a business model behind it. If you want sustainable impact, then you need a market incentive² to do that. I firmly believe that business and just straight up rational business growth, profitable business growth and social impact are not mutually exclusive.”
Go-Jek recently won ten thousand dollars in a competition through the American State Department's Global Entrepreneurship Program. Indonesia is one of five countries in this program which links startup businesses with investors³.
Many startups are Internet-based services. Indonesia already has more than seven hundred startups online, and new ones are launched every week. Half of Indonesians still live on less than two dollars a day. But Indonesia has a young population interested in trying new technology.
Right now, about forty-five million Indonesians, or only about one in five, use the Internet. But about half of those people use mobile devices to go online, and those numbers are only growing.
Some experts say the conditions for local entrepreneurs are the best in the world. Still, the World Bank currently ranks Indonesia one hundred twenty-first out of one hundred eighty-three economies in ease of doing business.
The biggest barrier to entrepreneurs is a lack of financing. Also, economists⁴ say Indonesia needs more entrepreneurs. They now make up less than one percent of the workforce⁵. The rate is over seven percent in nearby Singapore, and almost twelve percent in the United States.
Indonesia’s biggest bank, Bank Mandiri, expects to increase loans by as much as twenty-five percent this year. Demand is growing for credit for small businesses and for consumers.
Leonard Theosabrata helped start Whiteboard Journal. This online publication offers a place for young designers to show their products. He says Indonesia has a lot of opportunity for entrepreneurs who take a risk.
And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report. I'm Mario Ritter.
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Contributing: Sara Schonhardt

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

3 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

4 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。