The third phase of the ICT Park was launched in the holy city of Mashhad, Khorasan Razavi Province, on Monday.
Speaking at the inaugural event, Information and Communications Technologies Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi said the project has increased the total area designated for digital economy in Mashhad to 7,000 square meters, Ict.gov.ir reported.
“Venture capital funds will be established in the park to support startups. A percentage of ICT Ministry’s income will also be invested in startups based in the parks,” he added.
The park, also known as the Digital Economic Development Park, has been established in the city’s central post office to host 120 startups and knowledge-based companies.
Apart from workspace and financial support, mentorship courses and legal counseling will also be provided for tech teams.
Jahromi said the establishment of such a tech park had been on the ICT Ministry’s agenda for over a decade. However, it remained on paper until 2014, when preliminary studies were conducted and the project’s construction commenced.
“Two more branches are being planned in the shrine city,” he added.
He noted that ICT Park marks a revolution in ICT field, hoping that it will promote employment and expand modern communications in the city.
Jahromi added that investments in digital economy and modern technologies are aimed at reducing Iran’s overreliance on oil.
“For years, Iran’s economy depended on the export of natural resources like oil and [the government] used oil income to offer services to the people and build infrastructure. But the services have never been of decent quality,” he said.
“To make a change, a variety of business models based on ICT have emerged in recent years, albeit slowly.”
Tech Projects in Mashhad
Earlier in February, Vice President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari inaugurated several technology projects in Mashhad.
The first project was an innovation center and accelerator called “Shetab-e Ideh” (meaning Idea Acceleration). It is mandated to support and commercialize startup ideas in the fields of energy, construction, art, urban development, industrial design, tourism and architecture. So far, 12 startup teams have settled in the center.
The second center was a startup accelerator called Kalomin, specializing in market analysis, customer services and business management.
The accelerator intends to create a competitive atmosphere in the local market to help consumers make cost-effective purchases.
Sattari also inaugurated a tech laboratory complex at the province’s Tech Park. The complex has 12 workshops that have attracted 10 teams.
In early January, an innovation factory came on stream in Mashhad to gather startups, knowledge-based companies and accelerators in a small-scale ecosystem and devise smart solutions for industries and businesses.
Located near Ferdowsi University, the innovation center with two industrial units is spread over 3.7 hectares.
“An abandoned soft drinks factory has been repurposed and retrofitted. The factory offers shared workspace, laboratory, innovation rooms for children, training hall, amphitheater, content development class, network development service center and a café,” Sattari said at the inauguration.
“The former soft drinks factory is one of the oldest industrial buildings in the city. Turning a literally idle space into a center for nourishing the innovative ideas of youths is an unparalleled event in the history of Mashhad.”
The factory is tasked with commercializing the business ideas of startups and generating income for the teams and added value for the city.
Officials believe that its proximity to the university would give startups an opportunity to interact with the academia and use their knowledge and experience.
Universities have also extended support to the technology ecosystem by allowing access to campus areas and extending financial support to innovative teams.
Sharif University of Technology in Tehran and Astan Quds Razavi, a charitable organization in Khorasan Razavi Province, has launched an innovation factory adjacent to Mashhad’s Ferdowsi University.
The center is specialized in repairing medical equipment and clinical devices, which will help save $420 million annually.
Countrywide Efforts
Numerous tech parks and innovation factories have been set up across the country over the past few years to provide shared workspace and other facilities to tech units.
There are seven tech parks in Tehran Province, most of which are backed by major Iranian universities, including Tarbiat Modares University, University of Tehran, Sharif University of Technology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University and Islamic Azad University.
These tech parks carry the name of universities backing them.
Innovation factories in Tehran, such as Azadi and Highway, have also attracted numerous tech teams and startups.
Azadi Innovation Factory was launched in August 2018 at an abandoned chemicals factory near Azadi Square, west of Tehran. The center is backed by the Vice Presidential Office for Science and Technology and managed by Sharif University of Technology.
Highway, the capital's second innovation factory, is under construction. The factory is being established in an old building near Nobonyad Square on the northeastern flank of Tehran.
In its drive to establish innovation factories and tech parks, Tehran is not alone. Numerous centers across Iran have also been founded.
The vice presidential office is developing innovation factories in Iranian metropolises like Zanjan, Isfahan, Tabriz, Karaj and Yazd to expand startup and knowledge-based ecosystems.
At the innovation factories, startups and knowledge-based companies find legal, technical and financial help to develop their activities.
With the expansion of infrastructural and financial support, those involved in the tech ecosystem are pushing Iran's domestic manufacturing sector to end its reliance on oil business and help bypass sanctions.