الهيئة العامة للرقابة المالية

Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) hosted the inaugural annual summit for its Regulatory Sandbox (FRA-Sandbox Summit) yesterday evening at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo. The event was held in the presence of Dr. Islam Azzam, FRA Chairman, Mr. Omar Radwan, EGX Chairman, Dr. Khaled Serry Seyam, Chairman of Misr for Central Clearing, Depository and Registry (MCDR); alongside senior FRA leaders, government officials, FinTech experts, financial institution representatives, investors and key stakeholders across the non-banking financial sector.

Marking the opening of the summit, Dr. Islam Azzam stated that the Regulatory Sandbox provides an open, flexible and secure live testing environment, enabling entrepreneurs and startups to develop and test innovative technological solutions while ensuring alignment with existing legislative and regulatory frameworks. He emphasized that the Sandbox has become a core mechanism for FRA to foster innovation in non-banking financial activities by delivering regulatory guidance, driving awareness of governing laws and decrees, and organizing events, competitions and collaborative initiatives that bridge innovators, startups, financial institutions, investors, universities and research centers.

Dr. Islam Azzam reaffirmed that FRA’s focus on FinTech stems from its commitment to empower market participants to introduce new financial products and services that keep pace with technological advancement and evolving socio-economic needs. This strategy expands market reach and improves service quality while maintaining strict regulatory oversight to safeguard investor rights and uphold market stability.

During the event, Dr. Mohamed Farid Saleh, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, addressed the summit via a recorded video message, congratulating FRA leaders and the Sandbox executive team on their achievements over the past year. He praised their dedication to establish a supportive and flexible framework for non-banking financial innovation, which enabled startups to safely launch and refine tech solutions—particularly within the insurance sector through automated claims assessment and e-policy issuance.

The Minister highlighted that the Sandbox originated as a strategic vision to build an institutional incubator for high-potential ideas—offering research support, data access, and regulatory adaptations to prepare emerging solutions for commercial rollout. He added that the commercial success of these innovative ventures represents the culmination of a joint institutional effort, empowering youth and translating entrepreneurial ambition into impactful projects that drive sector-wide growth.

In his address, Mr. Mostafa Ismail Hassan, CEO of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA), underscored the critical need for continuous, comprehensive modernization strategies utilizing non-traditional credit scoring mechanisms—including alternative data and open banking. He highlighted MSMEDA’s pioneering role as the first entity to apply and practically test these innovative financing tools across its client base.

Mr. Hassan commended Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) as an essential development partner in fostering innovation. He praised the Regulatory Sandbox’s notable success in providing viable avenues for testing technological solutions, reaffirming MSMEDA’s commitment to direct more small-business FinTech startups toward the Sandbox to develop and refine their ideas.

Mr. Mohamed El-Sayyad, FRA Vice Chairman noted in his speech that the Sandbox concluded its inaugural year with key milestones that solidified its framework. These achievements extend beyond the volume of submitted projects, initial approvals, and live-testing entries to include clear project timelines, valuation metrics, and anticipated market impact. He reiterated that FRA will continue to provide full technical, operational and legislative support.

Mr. El-Sayyad added that ventures leveraging artificial intelligence, advanced digital analytics accurately, and securely will be prioritized for Sandbox backing, ensuring strict compliance with responsible regulatory frameworks, data privacy laws, and robust governance standards.

In a presentation titled “From Concept to Impact,” Eng. Ahmed Khalifa, Executive Director of FRA Sandbox, highlighted first-year milestones. The Sandbox received 49 applications, granted initial approvals to 9 projects, and transitioned 2 into live testing—underscoring its role as a bridge between innovation and commercial application. Additionally, the Sandbox provided regulatory guidance to 45 companies, hosted workshops and specialized seminars to raise awareness around cybersecurity and governing regulatory frameworks.

The Sandbox’s Executive Director highlighted the high level of participation and dynamic discussions at the inaugural summit. The event serves as a strategic platform for regulatory authorities, financial institutions, innovators, and investors to exchange expertise, review key learnings, and outline future objectives as the Sandbox advances toward live, real-world testing of technological solutions prior to full market rollout.

Eng. Ahmed Khalifa emphasized that the Sandbox has established an expedited pathway from experimentation to results within a clear timeframe. He noted that organizational size is not a prerequisite for selection; rather, admission hinges on a project’s capacity to deliver measurable impact in simplifying and enhancing user experiences across the non-banking financial sector.

The summit featured a panel discussion titled “The Innovation Journey: Insights from FRA-Sandbox,” which explored the trajectory of participating projects from initial application to live testing. Moderated by Ms. Karima El-Hakim, Country Director and Partner at Plug and Play Africa, the panel featured industry leaders including Mr. Ala’a El-Zoheiry, Chairman of the Insurance Federation of Egypt and Managing Director of GIG; Mr. Ahmed Abou El-Saad, CEO and Managing Director of Azimut Egypt; Mr. Mohamed Kamel, CEO of Lumin Soft; and Mr. Ahmed Eissa, Co-Founder and CEO of EG InsurTech.

A second panel, titled “Voices of Innovation: Shaping the Future of Non-Banking Financial Technology,” addressed emerging opportunities and sector challenges. Moderated by Dr. Ayman Ismail, Associate Dean for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the American University in Cairo (AUC), the session brought together Mr. Mahmoud El-Eshmawy, Deputy Managing Director at e-finance; Dr. Ahmed Mansour, Executive Assistant to the CEO and Board Member at Attijariwafa Bank; Mr. Sherif Shaltout, Regional Director at Liquid C2; Ms. Karima El-Hakim; and Dr. Mohamed Hegazy, Legal and Regulatory Policy Consultant.

In another session titled “Promising Innovations,” representatives from Emtelaak—Eng. Ahmed Abou Zeid and Dr. Ghada Ali—along with Ms. Dina Anwar of EFG Hermes, presented forward-looking projects and innovation prospects nurtured within the Sandbox framework. Additionally, Dr. Marianne Kaldas, Member of Parliament and former CEO of the Egyptian Center for Voluntary Arbitration and Settlement of Non-Banking Financial Disputes (ECAS), delivered a keynote emphasizing the critical importance for startups and entrepreneurs to adhere to regulatory compliance frameworks and leverage amicable dispute resolution mechanisms via arbitration.

Attended by over 500 delegates—spanning government officials, private sector executives, researchers, academic institutions, and entrepreneurs—the summit underscored FRA Regulatory Sandbox’s growing role as a vital incubator driving innovation, digital transformation and sustainable financial inclusion.

To conclude the proceedings, the Sandbox signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Startup Egypt, Entlak, Mahram & Partners and AGX Consulting. These strategic partnerships aim to support FinTech innovation through international outreach, regulatory awareness, and expanding startup access to the Sandbox incubator.

Discussions throughout the summit sessions focused on key first-year milestones, celebrating successful case studies and incubated projects, while charting the future of FinTech and its role in developing non-banking financial products to deepen financial inclusion and digital transformation.

It also explored strategies to scale the Sandbox into a premier regional FinTech hub, elevating Egypt’s non-banking financial sector internationally and attracting increased investment alongside innovative technological solutions.

Participating experts delivered actionable recommendations for entrepreneurs, emphasizing the need to align technological concepts with end-user demands and market realities. Key challenges were highlighted, particularly the necessity for agile legislative frameworks to manage artificial intelligence capabilities and mitigate potential risks associated with data collection and key performance indicators (KPIs) creation.

Furthermore, experts commended FRA’s regulatory leap following the enactment of Law No. 5 of 2022 regulating non-banking FinTech applications. This framework enabled the launch of innovative products, expanding service reach and driving economic growth, all while leveraging full regulatory oversight to maintain market stability.