All Countries and All Sectors

Around the world, national and municipal governments have been deploying smart city technology in the fight against the coronavirus, using it to track the spread of the pandemic and support the implementation of medical strategies. As well as demonstrating the value of smart technologies, these new applications are helping shape the future of smart cities.

Strict lockdown measures and travel bans have helped Tunisia become a regional leader in eradicating cases of Covid-19. Now, with restrictions loosening and industries returning to work, the tourism sector has been highlighted as key to its economic rebound.

Over the next 15 months, Africa is set to receive a total of $50bn towards its economic recovery from the World Bank, which has identified the protection of the region's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as essential to its economic bounce-back from the coronavirus. Financial technology (fintech) has a key role to play in this.

The Philippines is experiencing a boom in digital banking as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, with several digital-only banks announcing plans to enter the market and legacy banks rapidly upgrading their online offerings.

Online video gaming is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the global tech landscape. With Covid-19 lockdown measures creating a captive audience, an estimated $159.3bn will be spent on games this year, according to a recent report from analytics firm Newzoo – a growth rate of 9.3%. The market is forecast to surpass $200bn by 2023.