Realising the potential of IoT in MENA

The latest report on the MENA region from GSMA Intelligence takes a closer look at IoT trends, including the mobile industry's contribution to IoT's pathway to success in the region. There are forecast to be 470 million IoT connections in MENA by the end of 2019, growing to 1.1 billion by 2025, 7% of which are expected to be licensed cellular IoT. Growth in IoT adoption in MENA is being propelled by government efforts to address resource scarcity and improve the well-being of citizens. A drive by enterprises to improve efficiencies and reduce costs using IoT solutions is also helping to spur connections. The region will also benefit from a major IoT contribution to the economy, with the productivity benefit alone reaching $18 billion by 2025.

The report highlights IoT trends in the region including examples of use cases, IoT offerings from operators, and the catalytic effect expected from 5G technology. The report examines the importance of policy enablers for sustainable IoT development in MENA supported by best practices in regulation. Finally, a pathway to success for IoT is identified that explores the following: how operators are foundational to the growth and innovation of IoT in the region; how building value-added services beyond connectivity is the key to monetisation; how governments play a vital role as both policymakers and customers; and how MENA has a strategic opportunity to lead on security by design.