Egypt is exploring cooperation with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) to establish and operate a fintech and trade regulatory sandbox, while providing funding for the startups participating in it.
The discussions brought together Egypt’s Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Mohamed Farid and ITFC CEO Adeeb Youssef Al-Aama. According to the announcement, the proposed sandbox would support startups developing solutions using data, technology, artificial intelligence and digital agents to help Egyptian companies reach overseas markets and increase exports.
The talks also covered export finance, factoring services and investment zones. Egypt proposed dedicated funding lines for export-related factoring to improve liquidity for exporters, alongside a potential role for the Egyptian sovereign fund in channeling international financing to factoring companies.
The ministry is also targeting the development of 15 to 20 small and mid-sized investment zones across Egypt. These sites would range from 20 to 80 feddans and support industrial, logistics, manufacturing and service activities through public-private partnerships.
ITFC said it is working on tailored financing programs to improve the capacity of Egyptian exporting companies and support their entry into new markets. The cooperation may also expand through Egypt’s 2026-2027 country program under the Arab-Africa Trade Bridges initiative.
Source: Fintech Gate
