Dubai PropTech Data Sandbox Open Call: Apply by October 12

The Dubai Future Foundation, in collaboration with the Dubai Land Department and Digital Dubai (the Dubai Data and Statistics Establishment), has launched the PropTech Data Sandbox Open Call under Sandbox Dubai, inviting PropTech innovators, startups, entrepreneurs and technology firms at home and abroad to test real estate data solutions in a controlled, real-world environment. Applications are open now and will close on October 12.

"Real estate offers vast room for transformation driven by technology," said Khalifa Al Qama, Chief of Research, Development and Innovation at the Dubai Future Foundation, calling the Open Call "a significant move toward establishing favorable conditions for innovators to pursue and build PropTech solutions, get past regulatory hurdles and edge nearer to real-world deployment."

The sandbox is specifically designed to let participants trial business models, products and services that rely on or unlock new uses of real estate data. Organisers say the environment provides secure access to information maintained by regulators and enables experimentation with firms' own datasets in circumstances where normal regulatory constraints might otherwise limit testing. Selected teams will collaborate with Sandbox Dubai specialists and regulators, access the broader Dubai Future Foundation ecosystem, and receive bespoke regulatory assistance to trial and refine their solutions with a view to expansion and scaling.

What the sandbox offers

• Access to regulatory datasets and a framework for secure, interoperable data testing;
• Direct engagement with the Dubai Land Department to validate market fit and operational readiness;
• Support from Digital Dubai on data governance, privacy and interoperability;
• Collaboration with Sandbox Dubai teams and tailored regulatory guidance to speed trial-to-market pathways.

Majid Saqr Al Marri, CEO of the Corporate Support Sector at the Dubai Land Department, said the initiative is intended to bridge innovation and market demand: "Real estate markets are increasingly defined by their ability to convert data into value and to link innovation more effectively with market demands." He added the sandbox will allow the department to "interact directly with promising technologies and ideas, gauge their promise in a practical market setting, and help shape a more resilient, innovative and future-ready real estate ecosystem."

Afaf Bou Osaiba, CEO of the Data and Statistics Operations Sector at the Dubai Data and Statistics Establishment, Digital Dubai, framed the sandbox as a testbed for responsible data access: "Data stands among the foremost enablers of innovation in the digital economy," she said, stressing that value depends on "making data securely accessible and interoperable across entities and sectors." Bou Osaiba described the PropTech Data Sandbox as exploring ways to broaden data access and usage "while protecting privacy and upholding established governance frameworks."

The PropTech Data Sandbox is positioned within Sandbox Dubai, one of the flagship programmes supporting the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33), an ambition to double Dubai's economic size and place the emirate among the top three global city economies by 2033. For startups and technology firms focused on real estate analytics, valuation models, predictive platforms, data-driven services or interoperable data products, the sandbox offers a pathway to validate solutions against regulator-held datasets and accelerate real-world deployment.

Submissions for the Open Call are being accepted through October 12; shortlisted participants will gain hands-on regulatory collaboration, ecosystem access and the opportunity to pilot scalable PropTech solutions in Dubai's real estate market.