Foreign direct investment (FDI) is a catalyst for digital economy development. With competition increasing as countries announce various FDI-attractive policies, policy makers must think strategically, not tactically. Nations should actively direct investments into targeted digital services with a focused approach. Investment policies, incentives, and the investor pitch must resonate with the country’s unique strengths – human capital, business ecosystem, or technological capabilities.

The international carrier industry has not brought much satisfaction over the past years. Traditional international carrier products are suffering low growth or are in structural decline, while service and asset innovators emerging in the adjacencies are making a mark in value creation. Telecom groups could have captured those trends through their international wholesale departments or subsidiaries, but their potential as trend hunters has been hindered by fragmentation or missing purpose.

Communications platform as a service (CPaaS) allows businesses to develop and manage communications features without needing to develop and maintain the infrastructure on the back end of the service. CPaaS makes it easier than ever for companies to create differentiating customer communication experiences while promising to reduce costs and speed up innovation.

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are the backbone of the economy, accounting for well over 40 percent of GDP in most countries. While MSMEs have always needed government support, COVID-19 has dealt them a devastating blow from which many may not recover. Various governments have announced economic relief packages, but these do not always address the real challenges MSMEs face to reopen and grow their business in the post COVID-19 world, where they may need to operate in different ways and with disrupted supply chains and customer relationships.