New Mastercard report outlines key sectors in Saudi Arabia set to benefit from smart city revolution

New Mastercard report outlines key sectors in Saudi Arabia set to benefit from smart city revolution

- Whitepaper highlights how data, analytics, digital infrastructure, connectivity, and enabling regulation, are critical to bringing human-centric cities to life

Dubai, UAE: A new white paper on Urban Tech, commissioned by Mastercard in partnership with Arabnet, is shining a spotlight on how Saudi Arabia’s e-government, tourism, healthcare, and transit sectors stand to benefit from smart city use cases in the Kingdom.

The paper showcases how the increasing trend of urbanization is creating opportunities for Urban Tech, with the global market expected to increase from $81 billion in 2018 to $158 billion by 2022, according to data from IDC.

Human-centric design principles

The white paper identifies three design principles for smart cities building a strong urban tech strategy that is human-centric: it must deliver a seamless experience, be inclusive and engage individuals as co-creators.

Inclusivity can be boosted by increasing access to high-quality connectivity and promoting digital literacy programs – as has been done by the Saudi Digital Academy, an initiative by the Ministry of ICT. On the topic of engagement, the paper explains how cities can tap into the collective intelligence of residents by partnering with GovTech startups.

Enablers to stimulate smart city growth

Keeping these human-centric design principles in mind, the report expands on why cities