The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has published a position paper that shared experiences and learnings from its Regulatory Sandbox project for the benefit of potential participants of the third cohort of Sandbox. The paper also encapsulates the journey of the first cohort participants and details their testing methodology, performance and learning outcomes.

The Regulatory Sandbox – now successfully entering its third edition – is a tailored regulatory environment that allows entities to conduct limited scale live tests of innovative products, services, processes, and business models in a controlled regulatory environment.

It sheds light on how the results of the first cohort fueled regulatory reforms to facilitate the entry of newly tested products and solutions in the financial services market, especially in P2P lending, equity crowdfunding, digital distribution of mutual funds, and digital-only insurance. It also lists down the products currently under testing in the second cohort including parametric insurance, fractionalization of real assets, Digital Identity/AML/KYC, Central KYC for Mutual Funds and women-focused Mutual Funds distribution platform among others.

Considering the encouraging outcomes and feedback of the first two cohorts, SECP has announced the commencement of the third cohort. The application deadline for the third cohort is May 31, 2022. The broad focus for this cohort would include products, solutions or business models that pave the way for financial inclusion, gender equity, efficiency and market depth through the use of new or existing technology, or otherwise.

Complete applications with all the requisite information can be emailed to: sandbox@secp.gov.pk. Any queries or questions with respect to the application process can be emailed to: sandbox@secp.gov.pk.

Source: Pro Pakistan