الهيئة العامة للرقابة المالية

FRA Chairman Dr. Islam Azzam: Regulatory Sandbox Bridges Innovation and Application; Smart Solutions Essential to Align with Global Markets and Enhance Customer Experience

 Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), chaired by Dr. Islam Azzam, has granted preliminary approval for two new projects to join its Regulatory Sandbox (FRA Sandbox) through its Fintech Committee.

The move comes as part of FRA’s ongoing efforts to foster innovation, support the development of financial technology solutions across non-banking financial activities, and provide a flexible, secure regulatory environment to test innovative business models and applications before full-scale market deployment.

FRA has granted initial approval for WeLend in collaboration with Tamweely to join the FRA Sandbox, introducing an AI-powered credit assessment solution for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), in collaboration with Tamweely. The initiative aims to deliver a technological solution to enhance creditworthiness assessments for small and medium-sized enterprises by analyzing diverse financial and operational data sets. The project balances artificial intelligence with human oversight to ensure accurate results while reducing evaluation time and operational costs.

Additionally, FRA granted preliminary approval to Roya Online Securities to enter the regulatory sandbox with “Gamified Investment Platform.” Targeted at youth aged 15 to 35, the project develops an interactive, simulated trading environment designed to introduce young investors to stock market mechanics in a simplified, step-by-step manner.

Dr. Islam Azzam, FRA Chairman emphasized that granting preliminary approvals to these projects reflects the vital role of the Regulatory Sandbox in advancing financial technology, accelerating modern technical solutions, and integrating them into non-banking financial services. He noted that the sandbox serves as a bridge between innovation and practical application, boosting market efficiency and responsiveness to evolving investor needs.

FRA Chairman added that through the Regulatory Sandbox, FRA provides a flexible and secure oversight environment to test technology and AI-driven solutions—particularly those aimed at improving customer experience and the quality of insurance and financing products. This approach ensures alignment with rapid global fintech developments while safeguarding market integrity, stability and consumer rights.

Eng. Ahmed Khalifa, Executive Director of FRA Sandbox, stated that these two new approvals bring the total number of projects granted preliminary approval since the sandbox’s launch to 11, two of which have advanced to live testing. He highlighted that this milestone reflects growing interest among tech companies and entrepreneurs to test innovative solutions under the regulatory oversight of the Authority.