In this exclusive interview with CanadianSME Small Business Magazine, Raza Jafri, the visionary founder and CEO of MetaWorldX, shares his groundbreaking work in revolutionizing urban planning and sustainability with digital twin technology. Through his innovative solutions, Raza is transforming urban environments into immersive, data-driven simulations that enhance smart city operations, sustainability, and human-centric progress. He discusses the potential of digital twin technology to solve complex urban challenges, its impact on small businesses, and his personal journey in blending urban planning with cutting-edge technology. With a passion for advancing global sustainability and empowering businesses, Raza’s mission is reshaping the future of urban technology—one digital twin at a time.
Raza launched MetaWorldX at the prestigious World Smart City Congress in Barcelona, Spain, solidifying its position as a leader in the field of cutting-edge urban technologies. Holding an Executive MBA from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University and a bachelor’s degree in Urban Planning and Sustainable Development from Concordia University, Raza brings a robust academic foundation to his work, blending strategic insight with a passion for actionable results.
Beyond his professional achievements, Raza is a dedicated advocate for social impact and human-centric innovation. A multilingual global citizen, he actively supports education-focused charities, with a particular commitment to uplifting orphans in developing nations. An advisor to tech founders across Canada and the United States, he also serves on multiple boards, leveraging his expertise to mentor and empower others.
MetaWorldX is revolutionizing urban spaces with digital twin technology. Can you share a specific example of how your AI-powered dashboards and predictive analytics have transformed decision-making for a city or industry?
One impactful example comes from our engagement with a smart city initiative in the Middle East, where MetaWorldX deployed a digital twin to support urban planning and emergency preparedness.
Using our AI-powered dashboards and predictive analytics, we integrated live data feeds—from traffic sensors, weather systems, and infrastructure IoT devices—into a 3D spatial environment of the city. This allowed stakeholders to visualize complex data in real time and simulate different planning scenarios.
Result: City planners used our platform to test and validate emergency response strategies for extreme weather events. By simulating flood scenarios with traffic and population flow data, they were able to optimize evacuation routes, allocate resources more effectively, and reduce projected response times by over 35%.
Additionally, our predictive analytics identified underutilized transit corridors and suggested re-zoning options, which helped the city revise its infrastructure investment plans—unlocking millions in savings while improving mobility outcomes.
This is just one of many cases where our digital twin platform doesn’t just visualize the present—it empowers cities to shape a smarter, safer future.
Your work with NEOM’s Public Safety Digital Twin is impressive. How do you see this technology evolving to address future urban security challenges, and what potential applications excite you the most?
Our work with NEOM’s Public Safety Digital Twin is indeed a glimpse into the future of secure, responsive urban environments—and we believe this is just the beginning.
Looking ahead, we see digital twin technology evolving in three major ways to meet emerging urban security challenges:
1. From Reactive to Predictive Security: Future digital twins will leverage advanced AI models trained on real-time and historical data to not just detect incidents, but predict them before they happen. Imagine identifying patterns of behavior or environmental signals that precede a security breach, enabling law enforcement or first responders to act proactively rather than reactively.
Example: Anticipating crowd surges or unrest during public events using social sentiment analysis, biometric entry patterns, and mobility data.
2. Hyper-Personalized Response Coordination: As urban environments become more complex, response systems need to be hyper-coordinated. The digital twin becomes the command center, integrating inputs from surveillance, PSIM platforms, emergency services, and even citizen apps to enable real-time, multi-agency collaboration—all within a shared 3D spatial context.
Example: During a city-wide emergency like an earthquake or cyberattack, the digital twin can simulate damage impact, show blocked roads, and coordinate rescue paths instantly—down to the specific building and floor.
3. Secure, Scalable Governance Frameworks: The future also demands scalable governance frameworks for privacy, data sovereignty, and ethical AI use. We’re developing modular security layers that ensure sensitive data (like facial recognition or biometric feeds) is encrypted and access-controlled, especially in environments where cross-border collaboration is key.
What excites us most?
We’re particularly excited about extending digital twins to autonomous security systems—where drones, robotics, and AI agents act in sync with the twin to monitor, respond, and learn. Think of it as a living digital nervous system for the city.
The fusion of AI, simulation, and urban design opens endless possibilities—not just for preventing threats, but for building resilient, inclusive, and responsive cities from the ground up.
Small businesses often struggle to implement advanced technologies. How can SMBs leverage digital twin solutions to enhance their operations and competitiveness in the market?
SMBs can leverage digital twin solutions by starting small—digitizing key processes or spaces to gain real-time visibility, optimize operations, and reduce costs. Cloud-based platforms make implementation affordable, while AI insights help drive smarter, data-driven decisions. It’s a scalable way to boost efficiency, enhance customer experience, and stay competitive in a rapidly evolving market.
The integration of IoT and comprehensive data ecosystems is central to your approach. What advice would you give to SMB owners looking to start their journey towards data-driven decision-making?
If you remember the game SIM City – similarly in the real world, IoT data adds the live air quality, traffic, environmental, energy usage and threat detection informatics, While digital twin technology was once reserved for large-scale enterprises and cities, it’s now becoming more accessible—and small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) can absolutely leverage it to boost efficiency, reduce costs, and compete smarter.
Here’s how:
1. Start Small, Scale Smart
SMBs don’t need a full-scale digital replica of their operations on Day 1. They can begin by digitizing a single process or location—for example, a warehouse, retail space, or manufacturing line.
With cloud-based platforms like MetaWorldX, they can visualize and monitor that space in 3D, without needing heavy infrastructure.
Example: A boutique manufacturer can simulate production layouts or test process improvements virtually before investing in physical changes.
2. Predictive Maintenance = Fewer Surprises
With IoT sensors and a simple digital twin, SMBs can move from reactive to predictive maintenance—reducing downtime and extending asset life.
Example: A facility manager at a mid-size hotel can monitor HVAC systems, lighting, and water use to predict failures and save on energy costs.
3. Better Customer Experiences
For customer-facing businesses like real estate firms or event spaces, digital twins offer immersive 3D walkthroughs and virtual tours—creating engaging experiences that help close deals faster.
Example: A small real estate agency can show prospective buyers digital replicas of units with live data overlays (occupancy, sunlight exposure, etc.) without the buyer physically visiting the site.
4. Data-Driven Decisions
SMBs can use AI-powered dashboards to analyze space usage, workflow bottlenecks, or even foot traffic. The insights help owners make smarter decisions—without needing a dedicated data science team.
5. Competitive Differentiation
Being one of the few SMBs in your sector using cutting-edge tech is a brand advantage. It signals innovation, professionalism, and readiness for the future.
At MetaWorldX, we’re focused on making digital twins affordable, modular, and easy to deploy for smaller players—whether it’s through plug-and-play integrations or simplified user interfaces.
As we conclude, what final thoughts or advice would you like to share with small and medium-sized business owners about embracing innovation and preparing for the future of urban technology?
Innovation isn’t just for big players anymore. In fact, the future will belong to the bold and adaptable—and small and medium-sized businesses have a unique advantage: agility.
Urban technology, from digital twins to AI and IoT, is becoming more accessible, more modular, and more cost-effective. You don’t need to overhaul your entire operation overnight. Start with one process, one space, or one pain point—and let technology amplify your strength.
The key is mindset. Embrace a culture of experimentation. Stay curious. Partner with innovators. Ask: “What if we could see our operations in 3D? What if we could simulate growth before spending?” These aren’t futuristic questions anymore—they’re tools available to you right now.
At MetaWorldX, we believe that the future of smart cities isn’t just built by governments or tech giants—it’s built by everyday businesses like yours that choose to adapt, lead, and grow with the digital world.
So step forward with confidence. The future is not something to fear—it’s something you can help shape. I studied Urban Planning and Sustainable Development before doing my MBA and it was the planner inside me that was hungry to create a proactive technology and today with AI it is finally possible to prepare for the future with tangible data-driven insights. That is why I am proud to have built MetaWorldX.
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