As many as 1,322 knowledge-based businesses have been registered in Iran so far, head of the Innovation and Prosperity Fund, Behzad Soltani announced, adding: “Loans amounting to 970 billion rials ($28.5 million at market exchange rate) with 14% interest rate has been paid to knowledge-based enterprises over the past eight months.” Speaking at a conference titled ‘Science and Technology in the Sixth Economic Development Plan’ on Tuesday, he said he number of knowledge-based businesses is expected to exceed 2000 in the coming Iranian year. The official also called for more financial resources to support these enterprises. Earlier last month, the parliament decided to allocate $300 million from the National Development Fund of Iran (NDFI) to support knowledge-based companies.
