An under-construction tech factory in Karaj, the provincial center of Alborz, is slated to launch within a month for promoting the startup ecosystem in the metropolis, the province’s governor general said.
Azizollah Shahbazi added that the project has made good progress and will partially come on stream, ISNA reported.
The official noted that the would-be factory is spacious enough to accommodate all 263 knowledge-based companies active in the city, along with the emerging startups.
On Thursday, Vice President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari made a visit to the project site in Hesar District, east of the city.
Shahbazi explained that urban management issues will be targeted by the tech factory.
“Startup teams and knowledge-based firms working on waste management, environment, public health, smart city, culture and agriculture, which are willing to relocate at the factory in the near future, are invited to submit their applications at the foundation’s website Alborz.bmn.ir,” he said.
The governor general said the factory is being built in an underdeveloped building over an area of 1.5 hectares.
"The 10-year-old building, which was 80% complete when the project commenced, was intended to become a firefighting school. But with a change in plans, the project’s managers abandoned the repurposing plan," Shahbazi said.
“The building had classrooms, restaurants and a dormitory. However, the main layout of the building has been reshaped into five sections for improving administration.”
The project is the result of a joint agreement signed last summer by contractor companies, Karaj Municipality and the vice presidential office.
During his visit, Sattari also visited Aqiq Garden in eastern Karaj, which is planned to be converted to host tech units.
According to Shahbazi, the garden has 13 hectares of idle land, which is ideal for establishing another tech center.
“The garden does not lack in electronic infrastructures, but in terms of communication technologies, some improvements are required to make the place function efficiently,” he said.
Sattari underlined Alborz’s high potentials in different tech fields, especially medicine and livestock breeding, saying that his office will continue to finance and support tech projects in Karaj to help expand facilities for talented tech teams.
The vice president acknowledged fervent efforts to expand the province’s tech ecosystem and said, “The conversion of old buildings and idle spaces into productive centers is an efficient strategy, which greatly saves time and energy in the construction of new tech centers.”
During his trip, Sattari visited a small-scale exhibition of innovative products developed by local startups and tech firms.
Ongoing Trend
Over the past few years, numerous tech parks and innovation factories have been established throughout the country to offer shared workspace and other facilities to tech units.
There are seven tech parks in Tehran Province, most of which are backed by major Iranian universities, including Tarbiat Modares University, University of Tehran, Sharif University of Technology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University and Islamic Azad University.
These tech parks carry the name of universities backing them. Innovation factories in Tehran, such as Azadi and Highway, have also attracted numerous tech teams and startups.
Azadi Innovation Factory was launched in August 2018 at an abandoned chemicals factory near Azadi Square, west of Tehran. The center is backed by the Vice Presidential Office for Science and Technology and is managed by Sharif University of Technology.
Highway, the capital's second innovation factory, is under construction. The factory is being established in an old building near Nobonyad Square on the northeastern flank of Tehran.
Tehran is not alone in its push for establishing innovation factories and tech parks. Numerous centers have also been launched across Iran.
The vice presidential office is developing innovation factories in Iranian metropolises like Zanjan, Isfahan, Tabriz and Yazd to expand startup and knowledge-based ecosystems.
At the innovation factories, startups and knowledge-based companies find legal, technical and financial help to advance their activities.
With the extension of infrastructural and financial support, those who are active in the tech ecosystem are propelling Iran’s domestic production sector to end the economy’s oil dependency and help overcome sanctions.
Tech Ecosystem Growing
According to the Vice Presidential Office for Science and Technology, only 55 tech companies were operating nationwide in 2013-14, with an average annual revenue of 2 trillion rials ($8 million).
The domestic technology ecosystem has grown tremendously, thanks to official backing and private investment, to 6,030 tech entities registered till June 2021.
According to the data, knowledge-based enterprises registered a 450-fold increase in revenue throughout the period, reaching 900 trillion rials ($3.6 billion).
Despite the fact that tech units have expanded into a wide range of fields, statistics show that their top three interests are information and communications technologies, power, electronics and machinery.
Regardless of the ecosystem's interests and preferences, startups specialized in ICT, computer software development and chemical materials have earned the highest income. The least has been earned by tech companies engaged in food and biotech industries.
The capital city of Tehran is home to the largest share of tech units, followed by Isfahan, Fars, Khorasan Razavi and East Azarbaijan provinces.
According to the vice presidential office, these tech firms have helped bolster domestic production, curb the impact of sanctions and bridge the demand-supply gap in the local market.
The office declares that 2,988 firms are growing into major producers of technological items and 616 firms have produced outstanding prototypes of tech items by seeking financial resources and marketing support.
