Regulatory Sandbox Guide
Everything you need to know about testing your insurance and pension innovations in the IPEC regulatory sandbox.
Introduction
The Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) Regulatory Sandbox is a framework designed to allow innovators in the insurance and pensions sectors to conduct live experiments in a controlled environment under IPEC's supervision.
The sandbox aims to encourage innovation in the Zimbabwean financial sector, improve efficiency, enhance financial inclusion, and benefit policyholders and pensioners while ensuring appropriate safeguards and risk management practices are in place.
Eligibility Criteria
To be considered for the IPEC sandbox, your innovation must meet the following criteria:
📋 For complete documentation requirements, including shareholder and management documentation, please see our Application Requirements Guide.
- Genuine Innovation: The insurance product, pension service, or business model must be genuinely innovative with few or no comparable offerings on the Zimbabwean market.
- Consumer Benefit: The innovation should offer direct or indirect benefits to policyholders, pensioners, or the broader financial market (e.g., enhanced access, lower costs, better service).
- Need for Sandbox: You must demonstrate why the innovation cannot be tested under the existing IPEC regulatory framework without sandbox relief.
- Readiness for Testing: The innovation must be sufficiently developed to warrant live testing with real consumers.
- Intention to Deploy: You must have a clear intention and capability to deploy the innovation on a broader commercial scale in Zimbabwe after successful testing.
Application Process
1Registration
Create a user account and register your organisation on the portal. You will become the primary contact for all communications with IPEC.
2Application Submission
Complete the detailed application wizard, providing comprehensive information about your product, testing plan, risk assessment, consumer protection measures, and requested regulatory relief. Applications are open to both Organisations and Individuals
Important: If applying as an organisation, you must list all shareholders and senior management. Supporting documents (CV, police clearance, tax clearance) are optional but recommended where available. See the Application Requirements for complete details.
3IPEC Review
The IPEC regulatory team will thoroughly review your application. During this evaluation phase, we may request additional information, clarification, or modifications to your testing parameters through the portal.
4Decision & Cohort Assignment
You will receive a formal decision notifying you if your application has been approved or rejected. Approved applications will be assigned to a sandbox cohort and allocated a dedicated IPEC case officer.
Testing Phase
If approved, you will enter the live testing phase under the close supervision of your assigned IPEC case officer. The testing period is typically 6-12 months.
Milestone Tracking
You must achieve pre-defined testing milestones and submit required evidence of completion through the portal.
Progress Reporting
Submit regular progress reports detailing testing activities, customer metrics, financial data, and any challenges encountered.
Incident Reporting
Immediately report any significant incidents, policyholder complaints, system failures, or security breaches.
Graduation & Exit
At the conclusion of the testing period, you must submit a comprehensive final report. IPEC will evaluate the outcomes against the original testing objectives and consumer protection metrics.
Possible Outcomes:
- Successful Graduation: The innovation is deemed successful and can be deployed broadly, subject to obtaining the necessary permanent IPEC licenses and approvals.
- Extended Testing: The testing period may be extended if more data is needed to make a conclusive regulatory decision.
- Discontinuation: The innovation did not meet the testing objectives, poses unacceptable risks to consumers, or failed to comply with sandbox conditions, and must be discontinued with a managed exit plan for existing customers.