Banks gave 509.4 trillion rials ($1.92 billion) to 1,176 knowledge-based companies in loans in the first 10 months of current fiscal year (March 21- Jan 20).
The amount was up 126.9% compared to the corresponding period last year, according to Central Bank of Iran data.
Bank Melli Iran was the biggest state lender to the knowledge economy with 82 trillion rials ($309 million).
Close to 150 trillion rials ($566m) was paid by two semi-private banks, namely Bank Mellat and Bank Saderat, lending 81 trillion rials and 68.8 trillion rials, respectively.
State banks accounted for 28% (141.14 trillion rials) of the lending. Semi-private lenders gave to 33% (172.14 trillion rials) while credit institutions and private banks accounted for 196.05 trillion rials ($740m) or 39% of the total.
The CBI said banks lent 44.1 trillion rials ($166m) to 460 knowledge-based firms in the last calendar month to Jan. 20, which was 31.9% higher on the same last year.
Top of the list was Bank Mellat with 7.3 trillion rials, Bank Tejarat 7.2 trillion rials and Bank Saderat 5.7 trillion rials.
Total outstanding loans granted by 28 lenders to startups and knowledge-based companies stood at 590.3 trillion rials ($2.2b) as of Jan.20, up 103.2% compared with the same period a year ago.
Banks with the biggest outstanding loans were Eghtesad Novin Bank (EN Bank), Bank of Industry and Mine and Tejarat Bank with 94.3 trillion rials ($355m), 74.4 trillion rials ($280m) and 70.4 trillion rials ($265m), respectively.
As per data released by the Vice Presidential Office for Science and Technology in July 2021, 6,035 knowledge-based companies were active nationwide.
It appears that such companies are growing fast. Economists and experts concur that knowledge-based firms are making a decent contribution to economic growth by, among other things, adding value.
According to available data, total goods and services handled by knowledge-based companies is in the region of 900 trillion rials ($3.3b) a year. A decade ago it was hardly 2 trillion rials ($7.5m).
Improving Funding
The upsurge in funding the knowledge economy indicates the government’s interest in boosting the knowledge-based firms. Government officials have voiced support for tech firms and expressed willingness to improve the financial support to help them grow.
A knowledge-based economy is a system of consumption and production based on intellectual capital, in which a significant part of the company’s value may consist of intangible assets, mainly the value of its workers’ knowledge (intellectual capital).
The scope of a knowledge-based economy is not limited to the tech industry, it can and is also be used in other sectors like information technology, nanotechnology and biotechnology.
While the knowledge economy has normally relied on banks for funds, plans are underway for the stock market to play a bigger and effective role in meeting their funding needs.
