Zimbabwe Approves Seven Fintechs for Regulatory Sandbox

Zimbabwe’s securities regulator has admitted seven fintechs to its regulatory sandbox, with a dominant focus on tokenization.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe (SECZ) approved Colmin Resources Zimbabwe, Crowdaxe Capital, Financial Securities Exchange (FINSEC), Ndarama Standard, Procode Platforms, Questview Brokers, and Zimbabwe Entrepreneurship Exchange.

Four of the seven participants focus on tokenizing assets, securities, or infrastructure. Zimbabwe Entrepreneurship Exchange will test a blockchain-based capital-raising platform, while Questview Brokers will cover synthetic trading and Crowdaxe Capital will explore web-based crowdfunding.

Acting CEO of the SECZ, Tichaona Mushambadope, said: 

The Regulatory Sandbox provides a controlled, supervised and timed environment within which approved participants may test innovative products, services and business models. Participation in the Sandbox is limited to the testing of approved solutions within defined parameters and under the Commission's regulatory oversight within a given testing period.

This gives authorities in Zimbabwe an opportunity to evaluate areas such as investor protection, market integrity, and financial stability to inform how emerging services should be regulated.

Admission to the sandbox does not guarantee a full operating licence or regulatory endorsement. Companies that successfully complete testing must satisfy SECZ’s registration requirements before launching commercial operations, according to the regulator’s sandbox guidelines.

The approvals follow Zimbabwe’s introduction of its first dedicated cryptocurrency regulations in June, requiring businesses involved in the exchange, transfer, safekeeping, or administration of virtual assets to register annually with the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit.