TEHRAN – Tehran has advanced by two steps among the most innovative cities in the world, according to the report of the Global Innovation Index 2021.

The capital of Iran is ranked 41, surpassing cities such as Istanbul, Vienna, Barcelona, and Berlin.

The 2021 edition of the Global Innovation Index presents the latest global innovation ranking of 132 economies, relying on 81 different indicators. While tracking the most recent global innovation trends in the new Global Innovation Tracker, this edition also focuses on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on innovation.

Tehran ranked 41, surpassing cities such as Istanbul, Vienna, Barcelona, and Berlin. Since its inception in 2007, the GII has shaped the innovation measurement agenda and become a cornerstone of economic policymaking.

This year, the classification of countries by region and income level is also presented, and Iran is 13th among the middle and upper-middle-income countries and the second among the countries of the Central and South Asian region, after India.

The development of urban innovation and the promotion of related indicators is one of the areas of interest in the smartest cities. In the Smart Tehran program, along with other smart cities, a special heading is dedicated to the development of the urban innovation ecosystem and the support of startups and knowledge-based companies.

Among the measures in this field are the creation of a specialized technology market for the smart city, the dissemination of 400 technological and innovative needs of the municipality, the establishment of innovation centers in different areas of Tehran, and the facilitation of innovative businesses in the city.

Innovation in Iran developed rapidly in 5 years

Knowledge-based companies and creative startups have grown over the past five years, and Iran has risen 45 places in the Global Innovation Index.

The GII in Iran from 2015 to 2019 has risen from 106 to 61 with continuous improvement, showing 45 steps growth.

The development of accelerators and innovation centers over the last five years has led to a rapid increase in startups and knowledge-based companies.

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.

Between 2014 and 2017, exports of knowledge-based goods grew by a factor of five, before slumping in 2018 after the U.S. withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (2015), commonly referred to as the nuclear deal, and re-imposed sanctions.

The report states that innovation in Iran has developed rapidly over the past five years, and by the end of last year, 49 accelerators and 113 innovation centers had provided services to start-ups with the participation of the private sector.

FB/MG