FRA admits two fintechs to regulatory sandbox, bringing cohort to 11

The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) granted preliminary approvals to two fintechs to test their services within its regulatory sandbox, taking the roster to 11 since it launched over a year ago, according to an FRA statement. WeLend, working with Tamweely, will pilot an AI model that scores SME creditworthiness using financial and operational data, with human reviewers checking the output. The second approval was awarded to local brokerage Roa’ya Online to pilot a gamified securities trading simulator targeting retail users aged 15 to 35.

REMEMBER- AI credit scoring is gaining traction as the FRA has recently introduced a new rule easing the path for more machine decision-making in lending, starting from April 2027. We’ve seen growing use: Tanmeyah, EFG Finance’s microfinance arm, is rolling out its own credit-scoring model through I-Score’s Decision-as-a-Service platform, built on Synapse Analytics’ Konan engine and using bureau data to size up micro- and small-business borrowers. Raya Holdings also spun up Raya Nexus, an AI shop with EGP 250 mn in issued capital that sells credit decisioning, collections, and customer management tools to banks and fintechs.

Spinning toward India

Our cotton exports hit about 15.9k tons in the first 70 days of the 2026/27 season, up about 90% y-o-y, with India receiving 11.7k tons, Al Mal reports, citing an Alexandria Cotton Exporters Association report. Shipments went to nine countries between 1 September and 8 November, with China, Germany, and Pakistan ranking as the next-biggest buyers and Saudi Arabia appearing on the list for the first time.