The government-affiliated Information and Communication Technologies Guild Organization is planning to pay loans to the tune of 20 billion rials ($123,000) to ICT companies.
The move is aimed at protecting their businesses from the loss caused by the spread of COVID-19 in the country, which has distorted Iran’s tech ecosystem’s prospects. The loans are to be financed by ICT Ministry’s Information Technology Organization.
In a Saturday online meeting, the heads of commissions at ICT Guild Organization decided to offer loans worth 5-20 billion rials ($30,000-$123,000) to the eligible ICT firms, Peivast.com reported.
Fledgling companies and startups will be able to apply for the minimum amount, the report says.
To apply for the loans, knowledge-based firms are required to register on Irannoafarin.ir and enter their information. After reviewing applications, the guild will select the eligible firms.
In addition, the amount of loans will be determined based on the companies’ number of staff under insurance coverage and the firms’ date of establishment.
The lending is offered at 9% interest rate with 12-month installments and no breathing space.
The loans are contingent on firms pledging to maintain 90% of their business activities and not lay off their workforce.
The financial assistance is expected to help revive knowledge-based firms that have slumped due to the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
First reported in China’s Wuhan Province in December 2019, the coronavirus has so far infected 1,925,877 people around the world, claiming the lives of 119,719. The number of recovered cases has reached 452,333, according to Reuters reporting on Tuesday.
Iran reported the virus outbreak in mid-February, which has so far taken the lives of 4,585 people out of a total of 73,303 infected people.
According to Iran’s Health Ministry, 45,983 patients have so far recovered from the disease.
More Monetary Injection
The state-backed Iran National Innovation Fund has invested 140 billion rials ($864,000) in nanotechnology firms to boost the domestic production of health-protective items used for shielding against the novel coronavirus.
According to the fund’s website Inif.ir, Iran Nanotechnology Innovation Council has helped INIF sign contracts with eligible knowledge-based companies.
Mohammad Ali Bahreini, the head of Nano-Fund Department at the council, told the media that the contracts are geared toward the production of N95 and N99 facemasks for the medical staff.
“The money is also to be spent on upgrading machinery, especially electrospinning machines, used in the production of masks,” he added.
Electrospinning is a fiber production method that uses electric force to draw charged threads of polymer solutions or polymer melts up to fiber diameters to the tune of some hundred nanometers.
The method has the potential to produce seamless non-woven items by integrating advanced manufacturing with fiber electrospinning. This would introduce multi-functionality (flame, chemical, environmental protection) by blending fibers into electrospin-laced layers in combination with polymer coatings.
Besides the investment, INIF announced in mid-March plans to pay 45 trillion rials ($277.7 million) in loans to knowledge-based companies and tech firms to boost their operations.
According to INIF chief Ali Vahdat, “The move is aimed at increasing the production of health-protective items needed during the pandemic, including N95 respirator and surgical masks, hand sanitizers, alcohol-based disinfectants, medical air disinfectant machines, antibacterial fabrics and coveralls for hospital use, as well as test kits and simulators.”
To receive the loan and start production, the applicant knowledge-based company should be certified by all the institutions involved, including Iran’s Food and Drug Administration and Health Ministry.
Vahdat said there are over 400 knowledge-based firms currently working on anti-coronavirus products, some of whose field of activity had nothing to do with the disease earlier.
“Their rapid business adjustment to the ongoing issues in the country is praiseworthy,” he said.
Tehran Municipality Takes a Share
Besides offering financial help, Tehran Municipality announced last week it is ready to help startups affected by the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus in Iran.
TM’s Information and Communication Technologies Organization announced that Tehran Mayor Pirouz Hanachi has called on urban managers to help startups and fledgling tech firms affected by COVID-19.
As part of the measures, the firms are to be allowed to use residential buildings as workplaces. The municipality also plans to roll out more incentives for the firms in the near future.
Noting that TM is authorized to define the functional purpose of those buildings and issue permits based on Article 55 of Municipal Law, Hanachi said tech units can settle in residential buildings, provided their activities do not cause inconvenience to neighbors.
“The startups will be allowed to continue their work in the residential buildings for three months at most, until the COVID-19 emergency ends,” he added.
Hanachi said prior to the implementation of the plan, urban managers in the metropolis should reach an agreement over the details. He did not elaborate whether any discount will be offered to tech units leasing the apartments.
