The UAE has several regulatory laboratories (RegLabs) or sandboxes that test emerging technologies. Read about them here. The RegLab has issued temporary licences to test electric cargo aircraft, eVTOL aircraft, health data repository and disease registry, self-driving vehicles and fractional bonds. Also read about a regulatory sandbox for the insurance sector.
Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) launched the first experimental legislative environment for the ICT sector, the ICT Regulatory Sandbox, on the sidelines of the World Government Summit 2023.
The ICT Regulatory Sandbox is a preemptive framework that creates an agile regulatory environment to launch innovative ICT services and solutions. It enhances innovation and creative thinking, supports digital economic growth and provides an agile regulatory environment that ensures the sustainability of the sector.
The UAE’s Regulations Lab ‘RegLab’ is designed to proactively anticipate and develop future legislation governing the use and applications of emerging technologies in the UAE in ways that maximise the benefits and minimise the risks. It aims to create projects that can be adopted by policy-makers, legislators and regulators worldwide.
RegLab was launched in January 2019 in partnership with Dubai Future Foundation, pursuant to a federal law issued in 2018 authorising the UAE Cabinet to grant temporary licences for the testing and vetting of innovations that utilise future technologies and its applications such as Artificial Intelligence (AI).
It aims to create a reliable and transparent legislative environment, introduce new or develop existing legislation, regulate advanced technological products and applications in support of Vision 2021 and UAE Centennial 2071 Plan.
Read more about UAE Regulations Lab -A Regulatory Sandbox - Dubai Future Foundation.
Launched in Jan 2019 in partnership with DFF
Collaborates with business leaders and tech innovators
Works closely with lawmakers from local and federal authorities to develop legislation governing technology
Incubates and creates new market based on technology pilots
Supports the UAE's role as a testbed for emerging technology
Reglab operating model
Steps for
Through Reglab platform and our partners
01
Workshops with government entities and private sectors who are involved in the experimentation
02
UAE Cabinet approves a number of MVL licenses
03
Through Reglab platform and our partners and recommend required regulation
04
Use cases
Electric cargo aircraft
In March 2023, the UAE Regulations Lab at the General Secretariat of the Cabinet issued a licence for an electric cargo aircraft as part of its efforts to promote sustainable and eco-friendly transportation and enhance the sustainability of the air cargo industry in the UAE.
The licence is aimed at reducing carbon emissions by encouraging the adoption of clean energy and leveraging technology and innovation to redefine the logistics sector's future and its impact on the environment and climate. The issuance of the electric aircraft licence is in line with the RegLab's national mission to align regulation with innovation.
eVTOL aircraft
In addition, RegLab issued a temporary licence to United Parcel Service (UPS), an American multinational shipping, receiving, and supply chain management company, to test electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in the UAE.
The new sustainable aircraft licence provides a robust legislative framework for operating a new generation of cargo aircraft that uses clean energy, supporting the UAE's efforts to launch proactive eco-friendly initiatives and programmes aimed at bolstering the economic system's competitiveness.
Health data repository and disease registry
Ministry of Health and Prevention launched the health data repository project and the national disease registration system.
The health data repository project features two phases:
The national disease registration system is one of the pioneering initiatives in the field of disease surveillance and registration, intended to monitor, record, and analyse patient data to raise its quality on a comprehensive national level for the most prevalent diseases in the country.
The first step involves developing a disease registry system by creating digital dashboards for various health indicators. The next step involves the automation of the process of issuing reports to ensure improved data quality and reduction in time to execute these tasks.
Self-driving vehicles
The UAE approved a temporary licence to test self-driving vehicles, as a part of its continuous efforts to adopt advanced technologies in all sectors. The UAE is the first country in the Middle East and the second globally to test the application of self-driving vehicles.
Fractional bonds
The UAE issued pilot licence for the fractional bonds project, which will be carried out under the supervision of the Securities and Commodities Authority. The project aims to facilitate the adoption of innovative financial products and solutions and meet the requirements of investors in accordance with the best international standards in terms of credibility and confidentiality.
RegLab works closely with lawmakers from federal and local government authorities, as well as the private sector and business leaders to develop legislations governing vital future sectors influencing humanity and support the UAE’s role as a global incubator of innovations and creative projects.
The ADGM RegLab is a specially-tailored regulatory framework which provides a controlled environment for FinTech participants to develop and test innovative FinTech solutions. As the first RegLab in the region and the world’s second most active FinTech sandbox, the RegLab is designed to foster innovation within the UAE financial services market for both new market entrants and existing financial institutions.
By creating a regulated, safe environment RegLab has been designed to allow FinTech innovation to be tested without being subjected to the full suite of regulatory requirements that would otherwise apply to traditional financial services firms. The set-up will allow FinTech participants to explore and develop FinTech solutions in a risk appropriate and cost-effective environment.
Application process
Application and submission to the ADGM RegLab is done in cohorts. ADGM publicly announces when it starts accepting applications for the next cohort. The ADGM Reglab is for all participants active in the FinTech space, from start-ups to existing, regulated companies.
To qualify, FinTech participants must demonstrate an innovative technological solution at a stage of development, ready for testing. The solution should also contribute to the development of the financial sector in the UAE.
Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has created its own regulatory sandbox, known as the DFSA Innovation Testing Licence (ITL) Programme, which enables ITL holders to test new and innovative financial products, services and business models.
The Innovation Testing Licence (ITL) Programme is DFSA’s version of a regulatory sandbox that provides a controlled environment within which ITL holders can test and develop their innovation products and services. As it is a licenced-sandbox, applicants must apply to DFSA and complete an authorisation process. The first stage of the process involves submitting an application for consideration. The second stage involves submitting an application for DFSA’s authorisation to operate within the ITL Programme.
ITL’s objectives
The Innovation Testing Licence (ITL) Programme aims at:
The Central Bank of the UAE deployed their regulatory sandbox as one of the initiatives in the insurance sector, in response to the rapid developments in the digital technology that are transforming the economic and financial landscape, as well as, creating opportunities and posing challenges for the insured, policyholders, beneficiaries, affected stakeholders, companies, related professions and regulators. These developments are mostly led by the private sector, driven by the global digitisation and technological development forces that are re-shaping numerous aspects of the world's economies and societies.
The Central Bank of the UAE, Insurance Sector, issued Sandbox Regulation to define the regulatory framework for the operation and management of the experimental environment of the insurance sector. The document aims to:
Related links from WAM:
A regulatory sandbox is a regulatory approach, typically summarized in writing and published, that allows live, time-bound testing of innovations under a regulator’s oversight. Novel financial products, technologies, and business models can be tested under a set of rules, supervision requirements, and appropriate safeguards.
Benefits of a regulatory sandbox
United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate explains some of the benefits of a regulatory sandbox below:
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