The state-backed Iran National Innovation Fund has given 30 trillion rials ($116 million) to knowledge-based companies and startups since the beginning of the current Iranian year in March.
Ali Vahdat head of INIF said the fund’s goal is to increase the amount to 40 trillion rials ($15.47 billion) by the yearend, Peivast reported.
Vahdat noted that the total includes 12 trillion rials ($46.42 million) in credit guarantees for the tech companies. “Credit guarantees will continue to the tune of 20 trillion rials [$77.37 million]. For startups the amount was 13 trillion rials [$50.29 million] last year.”
Elaborating on INIF’s other services to the tech ecosystem, he said in the past couple of years the fund supported 3,100 plus knowledge-based companies in attend domestic and international exhibitions.
“Last year INIF launched seven stock exchange investment funds with 1.75 trillion rials [$6.76 million]. Seven more opened this year in collaboration with private firms.”
Recently the fund started contributing to developing workspace for knowledge-based units as innovation factories and tech centers and gave more than half a million dollars.
The official said the fund sponsors tech companies since their inception and helps them join the stock market. It has plans to encourage venture capital as another source of funding to help boost the tech ecosystem.
VC is a type of financing that investors provide to startup companies and small businesses that have long-term growth potential. The capital is normally made available by big affluent investors, investment banks and financial institutions.
INIF’s agenda is in line with the government’s policies to mobilize capabilities of knowledge-based companies and startups in the service of the economy, in particular help decent production growth.
NDFI Resources
Last week, the Vice Presidential Office for Science and Technology said it gave 18 trillion rials ($69.63 million) in cheap loans to 166 knowledge-based companies from loans taken from the National Development Fund of Iran.
Based on a decree from the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the office is authorized to tap into the sovereign wealth fund to support knowledge-based companies.
Vice President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari said the loans were taken by companies operating in the agriculture, industrial and mining sectors in rural areas.
“Thanks to the help, the companies have made noteworthy progress and grown,” he said without elaboration. Sattari said the tech ecosystem has high potential for supporting the economy and transform it into a “smart economy” albeit with effective government backing.
Besides state support, private companies are also doing their share in funding startups and tech firms. “VC funds are growing in Iran and becoming popular with investors. This should help underpin the work of startups and help them grow,” the senior official said. Nine VC funds are now active and the number is expected to grow, he added.
Banks too have helped in funding the startups. Hojjatollah Seyyedi, CEO of Bank Saderat Iran, said his bank has lent knowledge-based companies 8 trillion rials ($30.9 million).
“We want to expedite the lending process and also increase the amount. Knowledge-based firms are important and have the potential to help the economy grow.”
Central Bank Report
Support for tech firms has been on the agenda of governments since the past decade. Government loans to startups and tech firms constitute a major share of funds to the sector. Iran’s knowledge-based companies and tech firms received 137.6 trillion rials ($532.3 million) in loans in the last calendar year, the Central Bank of Iran said earlier.
It said 1,108 tech units applied for loans that averaged 124.2 billion rials ($480,000). The amount was up 74.5% compared to March 2018-19. CBI Governor Abdolnasser Hemmati has been quoted as saying taht the bank will continue to help expand the tech ecosystem.
In early April, he said the bank was in talks with the state-backed Iran National Innovation Fund to establish “special centers in the provinces to ease startups’ access to legal and financial support.”
Besides the provincial funding centers, plans call for setting up offices to offer specialized services to firms active in the fields of nanotechnology, social innovative services and the internet of things.
