TEHRAN - Iran House of Innovation and Technology (iHiT) was established two years ago with the aim of showcasing the country’s capabilities in the field of technology.

It runs under the management of the Center of International Science and Technology Cooperation (CISTC), a subsidiary of the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology.

This center was set up to serve as a foundation for increasing scientific, technological, and innovative communications with other countries, as well as securing a significant share of the regional and global trade of knowledge-based products.

Due to its cross-sector role, the Center of International Science and Technology Cooperation is responsible for managing the macro-coordination of technological activities, innovation in organizations and institutions linked to foreign countries, export of knowledge-based goods and services, supply and demand (transfer of) for technology, preparation and development of technological diplomacy, expansion of communication and provision of facilities to Iranian and non-Iranian international experts.

In an exclusive interview with the Tehran Times, Amir-Hossein Mirabadi, the director of CISTC, expounded on activities and future plans of the center to promote the technological achievements of the country in different fields.

Starting its activity two years ago, the Tehran branch of the Iran House of Innovation and Technology (iHiT) is the largest among houses of innovation and technology inside and outside the country. 

The center serves as a platform for the international exhibition of knowledge-based products.

It displays products in a broad range of fields like agriculture, fishery, food, construction, chemicals, energy, oil and gas, health, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, as well as games and animation.

Some 1,300 to 1,400 products, which cover a small proportion of the knowledge-based products, are exhibited here. Apart from the flagship products that are permanently exhibited, every three to four months, a new series of products are showcased to help the visitors learn about the latest products.  

The main goal behind establishing the houses of innovation and technology is to showcase and demonstrate the capabilities of the country in advanced technologies and to promote the export of knowledge-based products.

IHiT also serves as a place for knowledge-based companies to hold events, meetings, and conferences with their corresponding foreign partners, as in the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year (started in March 2023), over 1,200 foreign delegations and more than 600 business to business (B2B) meetings were held with representatives from more than 40 countries.

Since the center is frequented by knowledge-based firms and delegations from foreign countries, some export infrastructure is developed, e.g. the export management companies (EMC) are placed in the administration building, and all services that are needed for exporting knowledge-based products are provided collectively.

The central part of the iHiT in Tehran is equipped with a studio that is used to produce knowledge-based programs.

The center has been so far successful in introducing the capabilities of the country and has been highly welcomed by high-ranking officials of other countries who pay a visit to iHiT as part of their trip to Iran.

The interesting point is that they all leave the place amazedly because what they have observed here in the center is beyond their expectations. 

All the products in the center have been exported to target countries, and have great potential to be supplied to the global market.

Aside from political meetings, there are business meetings that are extremely important since they pave the way for the export process.

Entering international markets is a difficult task, since it requires marketing, meeting global standards, and obtaining specific certifications. 

Nonetheless, observing the outcomes of being active in a wider economic field has provided many companies the impetus to reinforce their export approaches, which is really valuable for it will finally lead to the economic growth of the country.

One of the main priorities of the Center for International Science and Technology Cooperation (CISTC) is export; and iHiT act as a platform to facilitate it.

So far, iHiT branches have been set up in Iraq, Syria, Uzbekistan, Kenya, China, Turkey, and Russia. A memorandum of understanding has been signed between Iran and Tajikistan to establish a house of innovation and technology in Dushanbe. Also, in the near future, iHiT will be established in Venezuela.

The number of these countries with iHiT centers is planned to be doubled within a year.

Surge in exports

The export of Iranian knowledge-based products has hugely increased. In 2018, the value of exports was around 600 million dollars. In 2019, the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic lowered the figure to some 300 million dollars. 

A year later, however, exports came back to 600 million dollars again. In 2021, it surpassed 860 million dollars and within the first eight months of the current Iranian year, it surged to 1.5 billion dollars. 

Some 1,000 out of nearly 10,000 knowledge-based companies in the country are currently exporting their products to 89 countries all over the world.

The administration of President Ebrahim Raisi has always underscored the significance of cooperation between Iran and other countries. It has by itself provided particular opportunities to lay the ground for export. 

Knowledge-based products and exports are of high added value and are really considerable.

The ultimate goal is to make knowledge-based products have a meaningful share of exports and economic development of the country by generating an acceptable amount of non-oil revenue.

To do so, the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology has been offering numerous incentives to speed up fulfilling the goal. 

IHiT plays a key role in this regard. Being home to knowledge-based firms and their products, it facilitates the process of introducing domestically-made products to global markets.  

Formerly, when a foreign delegation or an economic enterprise wanted to visit the country, they had to visit each knowledge-based company one by one, and sometimes they even had to travel to another part of the country which was hard and time-consuming.

However, the iHiT has brought together all the knowledge-based firms and made it much easier to introduce the products to visitors.

Some visitors are only interested in one specific field, for instance, Health Ministries of other countries would specifically visit health fields including pharmaceutical products, traditional medicines, stem cells, and supplement drugs.

IHiT provides a simulated pavilion for these visitors. For example, they visit a simulated operating room, fully equipped with Iranian equipment which not only grabs their attention but acts as a complete marketing strategy.

Sometimes, while visiting iHiT, foreign delegations happen to visit other fields and show interest in them. Even, the president of a certain country visited the toy section by chance and offered to launch a joint line of production as they found the Iran-made toys of high quality and technology.

It also applies to fields with more complex technology like Construction. A simulated pavilion including miniature streets with small lights, nano-technology floors made of construction waste, and nano-supplements highly inspires visitors as decision-maker officials to choose the observed products.

Deciding where to set up iHiT

The macroeconomic policies of the government decide where to set up iHiT branches, specifically in other countries. Expanding cooperation with friendly countries is one of the priorities in this regard.

In addition, checking export corridors, conducting research markets, and exploring the markets’ attraction in different regions help prioritize the countries for this purpose.

Accessing new markets is a newly adopted strategy; that is deepening trade ties with countries, like Africa, that the country has failed to note before.

Lack of knowledge and sufficient information about a region makes one assume there is no market or that it would be impossible to do business there.

Take African countries for example, a lot of other nations are active in their markets while denying the favorable capacities of the African markets.

Assessing African countries' market capacities, it was found that there are potential opportunities for market entry and expanding ties. What matters is earning foreign currency revenue not where it comes from, it can be an advanced European country or an African country.

Latin American region is the same. Market capacities in countries like Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba are not fully known yet.

As soon as knowing these capacities, they made many requests for expanding collaboration with Iran.

Algeria, one of the African countries, has so far visited Iran three times in the current Iranian year. The two countries have good political relationships, but no record in knowledge-based economy and technological field. So, Iran is planning to set up iHiT in Algeria to create new markets for domestically-made Iranian products.

Concerning the quality of the products and their competitive prices, it is easier to enter a market where there are fewer competitors.

Unlike most other countries that endeavor to monopolize their technology, Iran has announced readiness to export not only its products but also the technology to any country collaborating with Iran.

Iran is ready to share its technological knowledge and experiences with any country that is willing to cooperate as a new market and have joint production. Uzbekistan is one of the countries wherein joint production infrastructure is being followed up. Later, jointly-made products in Uzbekistan will be exported to other countries.  

It should be noted that the technology won’t be traded, and the rights of the companies must be preserved. Iran empowers friendly countries while they create a market for Iranian knowledge-based companies.