TEHRAN – A total of 400 trillion rials (nearly $1.4 billion) of financial services will be allocated to the innovation ecosystem of the country.

Four organizations of the Innovation and Prosperity Fund, the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, the Association of Private Banks and Credit Institutions, and the Coordinating Council of State and Semi-State Banks, signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a knowledge-based economy and innovation and technology financing fields.

In line with the implementation of Article 18 of the Knowledge-Based Production Surge Law, obstacles to banks’ investment in the knowledge-based field will be removed.

So far, 65 creative houses and innovation centers and 30 specialized accelerators have been established. Today, knowledge-based companies in the country’s banking network are known as the most reliable bank customers, because they have not been late in paying their installments.

Over the past year, in order to realize a resilient and knowledge-based economy, the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology has implemented a series of activities to further develop the ecosystem of innovation and technology in the country.

The Vice Presidency for Science and Technology was founded in 2006 as one of the sub-sets of the government with the slogan of moving from an oil-based economy to a knowledge-based one, aiming at increasing technological capabilities and innovation in order to generate wealth from the knowledge and improve people’s quality of life.

So, over 7,000 knowledge-based and 1,600 creative companies have so far been registered and started operations.

The fields of biotechnology, agriculture, food industries, chemical technologies aircraft maintenance, steel, gas, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and medicine, oil, electronics and telecommunications, information technology, and computer software are among the sectors that researchers in technology companies are working in.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei designated the current Iranian year (March 2022-March 2023) as “The Year of Production: Knowledge-Based and Job-Creating”. Strengthening knowledge-based companies are on the agenda, raising hope for reducing obstacles on the path to development.

In this regard, a strategic technology development headquarters was formed and 362,000 technological projects and 154 commercialization projects were supported, in addition to the inauguration of 23 national mega projects.

Moreover, in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem development, 65 creative houses and innovation centers, and 30 specialized accelerators have been established with the aim of empowering and strengthening the export capacity of knowledge-based, creative, and technological companies.

FB/MG