Jeel, the innovation and technology subsidiary of Riyad Bank, has partnered with Mambu, the global cloud-native core banking platform, to enhance the unified ecosystem powered by the recently launched Jeel Sandbox, Saudi Arabia’s pioneering fintech sandbox accelerator – developed by Jeel in collaboration with Fintech Saudi.
The Jeel Sandbox serves as a cornerstone of Saudi Arabia’s fintech roadmap — empowering startups, financial institutions, and innovators to test, validate and deploy digital financial solutions efficiently in a secure and scalable environment. It bridges the gap between ideation and real-world deployment, reducing time to market and accelerating innovation across the Kingdom’s evolving financial ecosystem.
Powered by Mambu’s composable banking architecture and hosted on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) in full alignment with SAMA’s cloud regulations, Jeel sandbox combines agility with regulatory-grade security. It provides progressive journey from mock APIs and Wallet as a Service (WaaS) capabilities towards a full Banking as a Service (BaaS) platform, laying the foundation for a unified ecosystem where fintechs can build, test and scale their solutions seamlessly.
“Our collaboration with Mambu strengthens Jeel’s role in driving innovation and enabling fintech leadership in Saudi Arabia,” said George Harrak, Chief Executive Officer of Jeel. “Through the Jeel Sandbox, we are laying the foundation for scalable Banking as a Service – giving fintechs, innovators and institutions the confidence to innovate, comply, and grow within a secure, future-ready environment fully aligned with Vision 2030.
Harjit Kang, Regional Lead, Middle East at Mambu, commented: “This is a pivotal moment for Mambu as we continue to increase our presence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Supporting Vision 2030 through our technology developments and partnerships with leaders in the area demonstrates how committed Mambu is to furthering the goals of the region. We look forward to working with Jeel to support financial institutions in the initial stages of growth”.
This partnership sets the stage for onboarding fintechs into Jeel’s sandbox, with the first pilot cohort expected later this year. As the platform grows, it will support advanced testing, regulatory readiness, and commercial deployment through Jeel’s Banking as a Service, positioning Saudi Arabia as the regional fintech launchpad.
