Since its inception three years ago, Innovation Acceleration Center (Technovation) based in the Pardis Technology Park has supported 200 startups, out of which 118 have matured into relatively successful firms.
According to Technovation's director, using one of "the most economical methods", the center has managed to play a key role in creation of jobs, Mehr News Agency reported.
Ali Hezaveh says, "So far, 200 startup teams have been formed with the accelerator's support, leading to the development of 118 [relatively successful] firms, creating jobs for 500 people."
He is of the opinion that job creation by supporting startups and through expansion of startup accelerators is much more economical compared to old-school methods of state-backed support systems.
Furthermore, Technovation has sponsored 209 entrepreneurship events, in which a total number of 17,000 people have participated. According to Hezaveh, the events were held in 28 provinces, covering more than 50 cities.
Currently, 26 startup accelerators are operating in Iran, with most of them being located in provinces of Tehran, Alborz, Isfahan, Yazd, Kermanshah and Mashhad. Provinces of Sistan-Baluchestan, Hamadan, Ardabil and Qom are pursuing programs to establish startup accelerators as well.
***Intermediary Role
According to Technovation's website, the center acts as an intermediary between the government and the private sector, and intends to facilitate business opportunities by providing financial and mentorship support.
Since assuming office in 2013, expansion of Iran's startup ecosystem and providing support for knowledge-based firms have been a top priority for President Hassan Rouhani and his men.
According to Iran's Vice President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari, over 3,500 knowledge-based firms and several thousand startups are operating in Iran. The revenue of these companies during the last fiscal which ended in March surpassed 600 trillion rials ($14.2 billion), an impressive 50% YoY spike.
