The Middle East and Africa’s smart cities market is expected to double from $1.3 billion in 2018 to $2.7 billion by 2022, according to a report by released by KPMG at the sixth Annual Arab Future Cities Summit, held last week. The summit also highlighted the region’s rapid development to become a global leader in smart cities, with Dubai being at the forefront of this transformation.

Building cities integrated with next-generation technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoTs) and artificial intelligence (AI) begins with making investments that leverage on advanced IT infrastructure, attendees at the two-day event discussed.

The summit was held under the patronage of the Ministry of Infrastructure Development, with top industry leaders and market players coming together to support the drive towards smart cities.

On the sidelines of this event, Rémi Pouchucq, business development manager for Middle East & Africa, Edge Computing, Small & Medium Data Centre, Schneider Electric, commented: “Large investments are going into technologies that enable smart cities, and the UAE has set itself as a benchmark for smart city innovation in the region.

“Thanks to the numerous government-lead initiatives, businesses and individuals are becoming increasingly aware of new gateways that technology opens for them, helping them identify and respond to the critical need to be planet- and profitability-compatible,” he added.

The event was a platform to discuss and showcase new technologies, opportunities and trends in the region while presentation speakers at the summit talked about new trends in the world of digitisation and how it’s impacting people’s lives and ultimately paving the way towards smart cities.