The Abu Dhabi Global Market has approved its first batch of FinTech Regulatory Laboratory (Reglab) participants. These consist of five local and foreign IT start-ups.

The ADGM Reglab claims to be the first of its kind in the whole of the Middle Eastern and North African region. The successful five participants, which were selected from a pool of 11 applications, are now registered and can develop their IT while having to obey fewer regulatory rules than others.

Richard Teng, the CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of the ADGM, has been using the by-now familiar word 'sandbox' to describe the Reglab. It has been suggested to this author that the mysterious term springs from the practice of dynamite manufacturers testing out their explosives in sand dunes, which absorb the shock easily and prevent people from coming to harm.

The regulator has now opened the second batch of applications by popular demand. The application period will close on 31 July and Abu Dhabi is welcoming FinTech people and businesses all over the world to try to convince it to admit them to the RegLab.