The Capital Markets Authority has graduated Sycamore Capital Limited from its incubation programme, paving way for its commercial rollout.
Following the successful exit from the Regulatory Sandbox, the firm has now been approved to operate as a mobile-based Collective Investment Scheme intermediary service platform provider.
A Collective Investment Scheme (CIS) is a pool of funds from various investors who have a common goal, similar to Chamaas.
A statement from the regulator says the firm will operate through the Cashlet mobile application.
CMA chief executive Wyckliffe Shamiah said the approval was granted pursuant to Section 11 (3) (f) of the Capital Markets Act and Paragraph 29 (b) of the Regulatory Sandbox Policy Guidance Note, making it the eleventh firm to successfully exit the live testing environment.
"The regulatory sandbox remains an important tool for the authority in developing evidence-based policy and regulation by facilitating innovation. However, more strategically, we see it as a driver for growth in the investor base, democratising wealth and enhancing liquidity in the capital markets," said Shamiah.
Sycamore Capital was admitted to the live-testing environment in July 2021.
In partnership with licensed fund manager ICEA Lion Asset Managers, it sought to bring together retail investors through Cashlet app, and subsequently direct their investments into registered collective investment schemes.
The objective of the innovation is to spur an investment culture among the youth by providing convenient and low-cost access to unit trust schemes and eliminating traditional paperwork, which are usually barriers for millennials.
An intermediary service platform means any electronic application or otherwise which facilitates the marketing and distribution of approved collective investment schemes, other than a platform that is deployed by an existing licensed institution for the purpose of improving efficiency.
On the other hand, an intermediary service platform provider means any person who operates an intermediary services platform and acts as an intermediary between the fund manager and the investors.
