Popular before the crisis, Romania has seen a dearth of inward investment since 2008. The downturn has been blamed on political turbulence and a lack of credit, problems still evident, but a flurry of deals at the start of the year suggests that investors are once again looking to take advantage of the country's attractive talent pool and technological expertise.

Many investment promotion agencies are just as keen to court start-ups as they are large multinationals, but their approach to attracting these smaller, more fragile companies may benefit from being more hands off than with their larger, established counterparts.

The Chinese city of Tianjin may lie in the shadow of investment behemoths Beijing and Shanghai, but it is still at the forefront of the country’s high-tech focus, with the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area central to its strong FDI appeal.

Small, start-up businesses offer huge potential for the people of sub-Saharan Africa, but gaining access to funding and adequate infrastructure has not always been straightforward. Are innovation hubs the answer?

Researchers say that a new city model – dubbed silicon city – can help foster innovation and has the capacity to transform cities, even, they stretch so far as to say, the economically destitute Detroit.

Once living in a small town meant isolation and a lack of opportunity. That is all changing as remote, rural communities embrace the digital age and link up with the global economy.

The rise of smart cities in sub-Saharan Africa is causing ripples of excitement in technology circles, but while so much of the region remains cut off from power supplies and the most basic of infrastructure, just who will benefit from this smartening up?