Following regulatory progress in Egypt, the CBO approval marks another milestone in Cassbana’s ambition to build the MSME credit infrastructure layer across MENA
Cairo / Muscat— Cassbana, a regional fintech infrastructure platform focused on expanding responsible access to working capital for MSMEs, has received in-principle approval from the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) to participate in the CBO Fintech Regulatory Sandbox, marking an important milestone in the company’s regional expansion.
The approval enables Cassbana to test its data-driven underwriting, embedded financing and risk-management infrastructure under CBO supervision, establishing an important regulatory foundation for scaling its model across the GCC.
The milestone follows Cassbana’s earlier in-principle approval from Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) to participate in its Regulatory Sandbox, establishing regulatory pathways in two MENA markets as the company prepares for its next phase of regional growth.
Regulatory Foundations for Regional Scale
Participation in the CBO Regulatory Sandbox will enable Cassbana to test its technology, underwriting and operating model within a supervised environment while working closely with the regulator and relevant ecosystem participants.
Haitham Nassar, Founder & CEO of Cassbana, said:
“The MSME financing gap across MENA is not simply a shortage of capital. The challenge is building the infrastructure that enables responsible access to finance efficiently and at scale.”
“The CBO approval, following our regulatory progress with the FRA in Egypt, is an important milestone in building that infrastructure across multiple markets. Our ambition is to build a scalable regional infrastructure that supports MSME trade and expands responsible access to finance across MENA.”
Oman as a Foundation for GCC Expansion
Oman represents a strategic market for Cassbana and an important foundation for its broader GCC expansion.
Through the Regulatory Sandbox, Cassbana will work within the CBO’s supervised framework to test its technology, underwriting, servicing and risk-management capabilities in the Omani market.
The experience and learnings from the sandbox will contribute to Cassbana’s broader objective of developing a scalable and adaptable infrastructure capable of operating across different regulatory environments in the region.
Saudi Arabia and the Next Phase of Growth
Following its progress in Egypt and Oman, Saudi Arabia represents an important market within Cassbana’s broader regional expansion strategy.
The company has established a local presence in the Kingdom and continues to develop its market and regulatory strategy as part of its longer-term ambition to expand across the GCC.
Cassbana’s next phase will focus on progressing through the CBO Regulatory Sandbox, strengthening its ecosystem and partnerships across existing markets, and advancing its broader regional expansion strategy, including Saudi Arabia.
Together, these markets form the foundation of Cassbana’s ambition to become a regional MSME credit infrastructure platform supporting trade and responsible access to finance across MENA.
The company is also preparing for its next institutional funding round to support its GCC expansion and regional scale-up.
About Cassbana
Cassbana is a regional fintech infrastructure platform focused on expanding responsible access to working capital for MSMEs across MENA.
Through data-driven underwriting, embedded technology and ecosystem partnerships, Cassbana is building scalable infrastructure designed to support MSME trade and financial inclusion across the region.
Cassbana is building its regional footprint across Egypt, Oman and Saudi Arabia, with the ambition of developing a scalable platform capable of serving MSME ecosystems across MENA.
Source: Zawya
