TEHRAN – The Innovation and Prosperity Fund affiliated with the Vice Presidency of Science and Technology has earmarked a sum of 170 trillion rials (nearly $4 billion at the official rate of 42,000 rials) to support knowledge-based companies over the past 4 years.

There are currently 6,263 knowledge-based companies operating in the country, offering advanced products and services in various fields of technology to domestic and foreign markets, and some of them have entered international markets, Siavash Maleki, deputy head of the Fund stated.

The Innovation and Prosperity Fund is responsible for supporting knowledge-based companies so that it provides financial assistance to companies that have reached the export stage while granting facility and investment tools to firms that have produced a product but failed to export, he explained.

“We currently offer more than 70 services to knowledge-based companies in four formats of facilities, guarantees, investments, and empowerment,” he noted.

“Export empowerment also includes export training and consulting, obtaining specialized and export standards and licenses, and intellectual property. Export networking also includes supporting the independent presence of knowledge-based companies in foreign exhibitions, holding export events and etc.

Export development and financing include setting up joint venture capital funds with similar entities, financing companies, and export projects in the form of various facilities and investments, granting prototyping facilities, granting facilities for setting up an assembly line abroad.

Launching the assembly line abroad is one of the latest facilities of the Innovation and Prosperity Fund to knowledge-based companies,” he explained, IRNA reported on Friday.

The Innovation Fund covers 90 percent of the costs of sending business delegations to different countries, he concluded.

Despite sanctions putting pressure on the country, a unique opportunity was provided for business development and the activity of knowledge-based companies in the country.

The fields of aircraft maintenance, steel, pharmaceuticals, and medical equipment, oil, and gas are among the sectors that researchers in technology companies have engaged in, leading to import reduction.

Gov. supports innovation houses to develop export

The Vice Presidency for Science and Technology supports the establishment of innovation houses in other countries to develop the export of knowledge-based products.

Exporting technological products of Iranian knowledge-based companies is one of the important and key programs of the vice presidency for science and technology, and in this regard, three houses of innovation and technology were inaugurated in Kenya, China and Syria.

And countries like Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan are set to host the innovation houses in near future.

By supporting innovative ideas, holding technological and innovative events, the centers will be a platform for the development and promotion of Iranian knowledge-based companies, startups, and creative industries.

The centers are mainly formed with the investment and support of the private sector to provide the necessary infrastructure for their exports through the innovation houses.

In each center, the products of more than 50 knowledge-based and creative companies are presented, such as health and medicine, information technology, machinery, and equipment.

To this end, the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology supports 50 percent of operating costs in the first three years to pave the way for companies to establish innovation centers.

The houses also host business meetings to accelerate international export activities and ultimately create new export markets for knowledge-based products.

Mehdi Ghalehnoei, an official with the vice presidency for science and technology, said in February that last year, knowledge-based companies gained about $800 million in revenue from export, and next year (March 21), it seems to reach up to $2 billion.

Africa, neighboring countries, Southeast Asia and Eurasia are our export target priorities, and we hope to create Iranian innovation and technology in all these areas, he added.

FB/MG