Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the emirate’s financial centre will launch a fintech digital sandbox, to enable financial institutions and innovators to experiment on products and solutions in a digital platform environment.

The initiative is supported and developed by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) and is intended to drive innovation in the digital financial products and services offerings across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.

“The objective of the digital sandbox is to help financial institutions build deep digital capabilities to tap market opportunities and promote financial inclusion through innovative technologies to better cater the underserved population in the Mena region,” said Richard Teng, chief executive officer at FSRA.

The ADGM Digital Sandbox is intended to provide institutions and start-ups the ability to connect and share data, solutions and ideas to accelerate digital adoption.

The initiative was announced at the Fintech Abu Dhabi Summit, where Ahmed Al Sayegh, minister of state and chairman of ADGM also revealed that the financial centre will build a blockchain-based trade financing platform with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Monetary Authority of Singapore to enable cross-border trade.