TEHRAN – More than 130 knowledge-based companies have been established in the country by Iranian expatriates thanks to the incentives and supportive programs of the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology.

One of the basic programs is to create suitable conditions for the attraction of Iranians abroad, including specialists, elites, investors, and entrepreneurs in various businesses, Rouhollah Estiri, director of the international development and business at the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, said.

Support and incentive programs for attracting these people have been developed as a special framework in the field of science and technology since four years ago, but the scope in accordance with the requirements of the time and necessities have become more widespread, he explained.

The government also does not impose special conditions and strictures on the cooperation of Iranians abroad and how they cooperate with knowledge-based companies, so they can cooperate in their country of residence with Iranian universities, research institutes, and knowledge-based companies and take advantage of the incentives provided, he highlighted.

Specialists, investors or owners of foreign knowledge-based companies in Iran, will be awarded 1.5 billion rials (about $35,000 at the official rate of 42,000 rials) in the first step, he said.

$800m gained from exports 

Knowledge-based companies exported products worth over $800 million in the past Iranian calendar year (ended March 20), Estiri highlighted.

Content production, application, and software development, as well as scientific and technological research in the field of IT, were among the exported items, he stated.

Pointing out that this amount of export is a result of 400 knowledge-based companies’ efforts, he noted that currently, 1,500 knowledge-based companies out of a total of 5,000 existing companies have been registered in the field of information technology, a thousand of which have the capacity to export.

Most of these companies export technological products or services to Iraq, Russia, Afghanistan, and Syria, and this year some countries in the Persian Gulf, Austria, and even China are included in the special program for export, he highlighted.

 ‘Surge in production’

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has named the current Iranian calendar year, 1399, as the ‘Year of Surge in Production', aiming to create a tangible change in people's lives.

A total budget of 63 trillion rials (nearly $1.5 billion) is proposed to be allocated to support the knowledge-based companies leaping for production, Rouhollah Zolfaghari, deputy head of the Innovation and Prosperity Fund said in April.

 “Last year, our performance in the implementation of innovative projects was 10 times more than last year,” he said, adding, “Over the previous year, some 13,000 billion rials (about $309 million) provided to knowledge-based companies, besides, various loans amounting to 25,000 billion rials (around $595 million).”

This year, the Fund will also invest some 3 trillion rials (about $71 million) in sectors at risk and we will be able to manufacture new products along with minimizing the investment risks through insurance coverage, he stated.

Also, a total budget of 600 billion rials (nearly $14 million) in the form of non-repayable loans has been earmarked so that the companies can commercialize their products, and if they are in the research and development phase, proceeds in collaboration with universities, scientific and research centers, he added.

He went on to said that more than 15 trillion rials (nearly $358 million) have been allotted for the issuance of guarantees for knowledge-based companies, which will lead to the conclusion of contracts with state-run centers, agencies, and large industries.

FB/MG