New innovation factories will be launched in Iranian metropolises by the Presidential Office’s Science and Technology Department to support and expand startup and knowledge-based ecosystems.
According to Esmaeil Qaderifar, an official with the department, innovation factory projects in the provinces of Khorasan Razavi and East Azarbaijan are almost complete and will become operational in the coming months, Webna.ir reported.
A similar project in Mashhad, the provincial center of Khorasan Razavi, is set to become operational in September.
“Tabriz in East Azarbaijan will get its third innovation factory when a construction project is completed,” Qaderifar said.
"Feasibility studies are being conducted in Fars, Isfahan and Yazd provinces for introducing similar projects."
Qaderifar noted that the new projects are replicas of innovation factories in Tehran, namely Azadi and Highway innovation factories that have attracted and housed numerous tech teams and startups.
Launched in August 2018, Azadi Innovation Factory has been established in an abandoned chemicals factory near Azadi Square west of Tehran under the management of Sharif University of Technology.
Highway is the capital's second innovation factory that is yet to be completed. The factory is established in an old building near Nobonyad Square on the northeastern flank of Tehran.
As per an agreement between the department and Tehran Municipality, the two are to transform abandoned buildings into tech hubs that can be used for fostering innovative ideas.
“Provincial projects have also been established in abandoned factories in order to keep the projects cost-efficient,” Qaderifar said.
The Roads Ministry, municipalities and governorates in the host cities have joined the Science and Technology Department in implementing these projects.
At the innovation factories, startups and knowledge-based companies will find legal, technical and financial support needed to develop their activities.
