TEHRAN – Three creative and innovative houses started operation in the capital city of Tehran, ISNA reported on Saturday.

The houses, focusing on content production, animation, and media, education and learning, children and adolescents, were inaugurated in the presence of Sourena Sattari, Vice President for Science and Technology.

Sattari stated that there are currently about 1,400 creative companies operating in the country.

“Launching creative houses is a way to expand innovative services and products, to strengthen cultural and creative industries, and to help facilitate and accelerate the formation of creative companies.

So that, some 70 houses have so far been set up in the country,” he further highlighted.

Iran has risen 45 places in the Global Innovation Index, according to the UNESCO 2021 Report. One of these centers is producing media content in audio and video formats, making promotional films, and holding conferences, specialized video and audio studios, live TV broadcasting, documentary programming, live internet broadcasting, advertising clips, and themes.

Another center is working in the field of technology and educational innovations and has succeeded in establishing 10 creative companies.

The last one also has been activated in the field of children, teenagers, and families, which hosts 6 creative teams.

Innovation houses abroad

The Vice Presidency for Science and Technology also 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.

Rapid development

Knowledge-based companies and creative startups have grown over the past five years, and Iran has risen 45 places in the Global Innovation Index, according to the UNESCO 2021 Report.

The Global Innovation Index 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.

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