The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announced the licensing of two finance companies specialized in debt-based crowdfunding, namely: Forus and Tameed. The licenses were granted to the companies after successful testing of their solutions in SAMA"s Regulatory Sandbox; an experimental environment dedicated to innovative financial products and services in Saudi Arabia. This initiative comes as part of the vital role SAMA plays in strengthening the finance sector, encouraging and enticing innovators and investors who can bring added value to the sector while maintaining full adherence to the supervisory guidelines defined by SAMA. The licensing of these two FinTech companies is a step that contributes towards achieving the aim of the FinTech strategy to position the Kingdom among leading countries in FinTech. The central bank reiterates its commitment to support the finance sector, increase the efficacy and flexibility of financial transactions and enable innovation in financial services to promote financial inclusion in the Kingdom and provide easy and secure access to financial services to all segments of society. The Saudi Central Bank stresses the importance of exclusively dealing with licensed and authorized financial institutions. To verify the licensed financial institutions, please visit SAMA’s official website. — SPA