Following in the footsteps of Tehran, major Iranian cities such as Karaj, Tabriz and Yazd are establishing technology centers, which are expected to boost their startup ecosystems.
In Karaj, the provincial center of Alborz, tech officials are planning to launch an innovation center, specializing in waste treatment, in the province’s Science and Technology Park, IRNA reported.
Mehdi Abbasi, the tech park's director, stated that efforts are underway to transform the 100-hectare park into a national hub of several tech fields, including waste management and treatment, which is a major challenge for urban planners.
“We are inviting professionals and waste treatment technology companies to establish a complete chain of know-how and operation in the park to increase self-reliance and productivity in the field,” he added.
The official stated that the planned innovation center in the park can offer professional consultancy in different urban sectors and provide training to the general public, pointing out that several thinking room sessions will be held in the near future to discuss the details of the waste treatment project.
“The waste treatment hub can help implement innovative projects in the targeted field,” he added.
With the assistance of the local knowledge-based community, an innovation factory is being built in Yazd, the capital of the namesake province, to materialize smart city purposes.
Yazd Municipality, Yazd City Council and the province's Science and Technology Park collaborated on the project, which is set to be officially launched in a month.
During a recent visit to the construction site, Yazd Governor General Mohammad Ali Talebi stated that with the growing number of technology teams and startups in the province, the factory can provide them with shared workspace, ICT facilities, laboratories, conference rooms and mentorship to help them advance the center's ultimate goal: transforming Yazd into a smart city.
In the northwestern province of Tabriz, officials of Aras Free Zone Organization and University of Tabriz have joined hands to set up an innovation factory to promote local knowledge-based ecosystem and tech productivity.
During a recent meeting, Mohsen Nariman, the AFZ chief, signed an agreement with Mir-Reza Majidi, the university's chancellor, to begin preliminary studies and determine the project site.
According to Nariman, once the innovation factory becomes operational, it will pave the way for the province's technology ecosystem to promote tech production and exports, thereby boosting the local economy.
“Knowledge-based companies and startups in the prospective factory can also find business peers and investors in AFZ and broaden their horizons,” he added.
Ongoing Trend
Over the past few years, numerous tech parks and innovation factories have been established throughout the country to offer 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 is 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 in northeastern Tehran.
Tehran is not alone in its push for establishing innovation factories and tech parks. Numerous centers have also been launched across Iran.
The vice presidential office is developing innovation factories in Iranian metropolises like Zanjan, Isfahan, Mashhad and Shiraz to expand startup and knowledge-based ecosystems.
At the innovation factories, startups and knowledge-based companies find legal, technical and financial help to advance their activities.
With the extension of infrastructural and financial support, those who are active in the tech ecosystem are propelling Iran’s domestic production sector to end the economy’s oil dependency and help overcome sanctions.
Tech Ecosystem Growing
According to the Vice Presidential Office for Science and Technology, only 55 tech companies were operating nationwide in 2013-14, with an average annual revenue of 2 trillion rials ($7.2 million).
The domestic technology ecosystem has grown tremendously, thanks to government backing and private investment, to 6,030 tech entities registered till June 2021.
According to the data, knowledge-based enterprises registered a 450-fold increase in revenue throughout the period, reaching 900 trillion rials ($3.2 billion).
Despite the fact that tech units have expanded into a wide range of fields, statistics show that their top three interests are information and communications technologies, electricity, electronics and machinery.
Regardless of the ecosystem's interests and preferences, startups specialized in ICT, computer software development and chemical materials have earned the highest income. The least has been earned by tech companies engaged in food and biotech industries.
The capital city of Tehran is home to the largest share of tech units, followed by Isfahan, Fars, Khorasan Razavi and East Azarbaijan provinces.
According to the vice presidential office, these tech firms have helped bolster domestic production, curb the impact of sanctions and bridge the demand-supply gap in the local market.
The office noted that 2,988 firms are growing into major producers of technological items and 616 firms have fabricated outstanding prototypes of tech devices by seeking financial resources and boosting marketing.
