Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade — Egypt
Where Vision
Sparks Venture.
Egypt’s first national regulatory sandbox for digital trade technology. Test your solution with real users in a supervised, time-limited environment agreed with the regulators — and take part free of charge.
- Free to take part
- Regulator-supervised
- Real operating conditions
- Time-limited pilots
01 — Why Join - What You Gain
Why bring your idea to the sandbox?
Every idea moves forward here — either into a supported pilot, or out with a professional technical recommendation for developing it further.
Test safely with AI-enabled infrastructure
Test your solution with real shipments, customs entries and counterparties in a supervised environment, using shared AI and data-analytics infrastructure.
Get technical evaluation and build evidence
Receive expert technical and regulatory evaluation, backed by measured results from the Egyptian market that regulators, investors and buyers can recognise.
Access partnerships, logistics and technical support
Connect with government, industry and financial partners, with logistics, supply-chain support and access to relevant experts and counterparties.
Leave with a clear next step
Every application ends with a decision you can act on: either selection for testing and scaling or a professional technical recommendation.
02 — What you leave with
One sandbox. Two valuable outcomes.
There is one way in and one review desk. Whichever outcome your idea reaches, you leave with stronger evidence and a clearer path forward — and it costs you nothing.
Selected for sandbox testing
Your idea moves into a supported pilot: a test plan agreed with the evaluation team, AI-enabled testing infrastructure, and a supervised run against real trade activity.
- Cohorts
- 4 a year
- Environment
- Supervised pilot
- Cost to you
- Free
Professional technical recommendation
Specialist committees give you a written expert read on the idea — what to strengthen, how to develop it, and what evidence would make it ready to test.
- Assessment
- Expert committees
- You receive
- Written guidance
- Cost to you
- Free
03 — Bring innovation to life
Four stages, from your idea to a clear next step.
Testing is the heart of the journey. Each stage names who does what, and what you walk away holding.
Submit your idea
You Your idea, how it works, and one page on what it changes for Egyptian foreign trade.
Evaluation team Reviews your submission against the open challenge and confirms it has been received.
Shape the test
You Agree the scope: who takes part, what is measured, and the limits you propose to work inside.
Evaluation team Works with you and the relevant bodies to set the test plan and any clearance the pilot needs.
Test with AI-enhanced infrastructure
You Run the pilot against real trade activity, on shared AI-enabled testing infrastructure.
Evaluation team Supervises the run, supports you through it, and tracks the measures agreed in the plan.
Evaluation and recommendation
You Receive a written read on technical and regulatory feasibility, and what it means for your next step.
Evaluation team Assesses the results and issues one of two outcomes: proceed with testing and scaling, or a professional recommendation for developing the idea further.
One of two valuable outcomes
Every application ends with a decision you can act on.
Selected to proceed with testing, implementation or further scaling.
A professional technical recommendation for improvement, further development or re-testing.
04 — Open challenge
The current challenge.
Four cohorts run each year, and each one is built around a single declared challenge, agreed with the regulators and the private sector. This is the one currently open for submissions.
Electronic Bills of Lading & Digital Trade Documents
Testing paperless trade documentation, e-BL verification, and cross-border digital compliance solutions in real-time operating environments.
Trade Technology & Logistics
- Paperless electronic Bills of Lading (e-BL)
- Automated customs classification algorithms
- Exporter digital identity verification platforms
- Tokenised warehouse receipt registries
Accelerates clearance times, cuts document handling costs, and establishes verified digital paper trails for cross-border shipping transactions.
- Direct regulatory committee review and sandbox clearance
- Shared AI and analytics testing infrastructure
- Matchmaking with participating ports, banks, and logisticians
Before submitting, make sure your idea clearly matches the current challenge.
Submit your idea05 — Readiness check
Is your idea ready for the sandbox?
Four quick checks against the open challenge. Tick what is true today — nothing is stored, and none of it is binding.
Start with the four checks
Tick the ones that describe your idea today. The result updates as you go, and nothing here is binding.
Read the open challengeNot sure your idea matches the open challenge? Write to sandbox@tradetechsandbox.eg and the team will read it with you.
One named coordinator
A person, with a phone number, who answers regulatory questions in days. Not an inbox.
A shared dashboard
You report monthly; the evaluation team reads the same numbers you do. No surprise audits.
Stop-loss agreed up front
The conditions that pause a test are written on day one, so nobody improvises.
Unsure about any of them? Send the question to the sandbox desk and you’ll get a written answer in five working days.
06 — The wider programme
More than a sandbox.
The sandbox is one of six components. Together they make the programme sustainable rather than a single pilot round.
Institutional framework
Operating rules, policies, governance mechanisms and a programme management system — the basis for running the lab and sustaining it.
Digital platform
One platform for the whole cycle: applications, evaluation, pilot tracking, reporting and performance indicators.
Sandbox cohorts
Four cohorts a year that receive, assess and test digital solutions, ending in a recommendation to scale, re-test or stop.
Partnerships & sustainability
A network across government, the private sector, financial institutions, universities and development partners — plus the funding model that keeps the lab running.
Capacity building and regulatory development are the programme’s two other components. Both sit in the full programme definition rather than on this page.
digital solutions to be tested • 20+ cleared by the end of the programme
Every solution that clears the sandbox is one rule the country no longer has to guess at, and one recommendation the legislator can act on.
07 — KPIs & Ecosystem Impact
Driving Strategic Alliances Through Measurable KPIs.
In collaboration with key regulatory entities and industry partners, our KPI performance framework delivers measurable national impact—accelerating trade digitalization, attracting investments, and cementing Egypt as a regional TradeTech hub.
Digital Solutions Tested
Selected for active testing cycles
Participating Startups
Onboarded innovative TradeTech startups
Government and Regulatory Bodies
Participating regulatory entities
Strategic Partnerships
Local and international alliances
Empowered by Global & Regional Market Champions
Uniting top-tier private sector leaders to drive high-impact TradeTech solutions and commercial growth.
08 — Apply
Apply in Minutes.
Pilot with Confidence.
The application is short and saves as you go. Selected applicants test inside a supervised, time-limited environment with the scope agreed in writing first — free of charge.