Executive summary Global trade is undergoing historic changes. While digital technologies have transformed virtually every sector of the economy, international trade remains anchored in practices designed for an analogue world: paper-heavy documentation; weeks-long financing approvals; and settlement processes that can take days to complete. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly those in developing economies, often face the steepest barriers, including higher borrowing costs, limited credit history and complex documentation requirements. To address these challenges, the Ministry of Foreign Trade, United Arab Emirates, the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development and the World Economic Forum launched the TradeTech Regulatory Sandbox. This pioneering initiative created a controlled environment in which eight technology companies from around the world could test next-generation trade solutions alongside four UAE regulators over a six-month period. The results revealed both the transformative potential of technology and the regulatory alignments needed to unlock that potential at scale. The sandbox demonstrated that mature technological solutions can deliver improvements in nearly every domain of trade finance. Companies testing innovative documentation technologies reduced processing times from between five and 10 days to mere hours. AI-powered credit assessment tools compressed financing decisions from four weeks to a matter of minutes, whereas stablecoin-based settlement eliminated the three- to-five-day delays inherent in correspondent banking while generating continuous yield during transaction windows. Beyond technical performance, the sandbox underscored the importance of regulatory readiness. Unlocking the full benefits of these innovations requires not only technological maturity but also policy alignment and enabling legal frameworks. To that end, the report presents concrete, forward-looking policy recommendations: broader adoption of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR), formal recognition of decentralized identity and verifiable credentials and the development of regulatory pathways for tokenized trade assets, digital bank guarantees and stablecoin-based settlement tools. In convening and facilitating this initiative, the UAE’s leadership provides a blueprint for how governments can proactively shape the future of trade. By aligning public- and private-sector actors through structured experimentation, the sandbox has demonstrated that innovation and regulation can advance together, enhancing efficiency, inclusivity and trust in global trade systems. The path ahead requires sustained commitment to this collaborative model. With appropriate policy foundations in place, the digital trade solutions tested in the sandbox can scale from promising pilots to core infrastructure, thereby ensuring that the benefits of technological advances reach businesses of all sizes across the global economy.The success of the TradeTech sandbox shows that innovation and regulation can work side by side, streamlining international trade. Advancing Digital Trade: Insights from the UAE TradeTech Regulatory Sandbox 4

Advancing Digital Trade 2025