In an interview with Hamshahri Newspaper with Parviz Karami, the secretary of the knowledge-based economy and culture-building technologies development headquarter, he talked about the startup ecosystem of the country.

According to the information center of the national elites foundation, in contrast to the past, startups are now an accepted reality in the country. New businesses have become so serious that the president himself talks to them about their experiences. You can hear the word “startup” in all meetings and conferences. Parviz Karami, the secretary of knowledge-based economy and culture-building technologies development headquarter, expressed in an interview with Hamshahri Newspaper that Iran has gone beyond the Silicon Valley of the United States in terms of startup ecosystem. According to this figure, the success of Tehran Innovation factory led to the implementation of similar centers in different provinces of the country.

Appointed as the head of the communication and information center of the Vice-Presidency, Karami marked that startup activities are not ordered and the Vice-Presidency has aimed to lay the necessary foundation for startup growth every day.            

 

- Last week, the vice president for science and technology affairs opened new innovation factories in Golestan Province. It seems that the Vice-Presidency has attempted to develop such spaces for startups of the country in various provinces. How did you come to the conclusion that such spaces could help the startup ecosystem of the country?

In addition to its key mission, which is in fact supporting knowledge-border research in the field of basic and fundamental sciences, the Vice-Presidency has conducted special activities in the field of technology commercialization. Another part of our activities is the support and establishment of knowledge-based companies. We have named this issue the ecosystem of technology and innovation. There are many players in this ecosystem; in established in universities, the ecosystem is responsible for producing science and nurturing specialized human resources. Our science and technology parks are responsible for turning science into products. In fact, there is at least one science and technology park in each province and there are even two parks in some provinces. A new form of innovation centers has been created at the heart of universities and with the cooperation of the private sector. In addition, there are venture capitals, accelerators, and growth centers in the innovation ecosystem. In recent years, however, we have come across factories that have traditionally been on the outskirts of cities, but with the expansion of cities, they are now in the heart of downtowns. In this regard, we can refer to electrode production factory based in Tehran Azadi Square and North Side of Mehrabad Airport, which is now turned into an innovation factory.

The factory was practically unused and its environment was turned into an urban trauma center. It was a large space and had made the city ugly. The owners of the place were unable to restore it.

In contrast to the past, startups are now an accepted reality in the country. New businesses have become so serious that the president himself talks to them about their experiences. You can hear the word “startup” in all meetings and conferences. Parviz Karami, the secretary of knowledge-based economy and culture-building technologies development headquarter, expressed in an interview with Hamshahri Newspaper that Iran has gone beyond the Silicon Valley of the United States in terms of startup ecosystem. According to this figure, the success of Tehran Innovation factory led to the implementation of similar centers in different provinces of the country.

- Last week, the vice president for science and technology affairs opened new innovation factories in Golestan Province. It seems that the Vice-Presidency has attempted to develop such spaces for startups of the country in various provinces. How did you come to the conclusion that such spaces could help the startup ecosystem of the country?

In addition to its key mission, which is in fact supporting knowledge-border research in the field of basic and fundamental sciences, the Vice-Presidency has conducted special activities in the field of technology commercialization. Another part of our activities is the support and establishment of knowledge-based companies. We have named this issue the ecosystem of technology and innovation. There are many players in this ecosystem; in established in universities, the ecosystem is responsible for producing science and nurturing specialized human resources. Our science and technology parks are responsible for turning science into products. In fact, there is at least one science and technology park in each province and there are even two parks in some provinces. A new form of innovation centers has been created at the heart of universities and with the cooperation of the private sector. In addition, there are venture capitals, accelerators, and growth centers in the innovation ecosystem. In recent years, however, we have come across factories that have traditionally been on the outskirts of cities, but with the expansion of cities, they are now in the heart of downtowns. In this regard, we can refer to electrode production factory based in Tehran Azadi Square and North Side of Mehrabad Airport, which is now turned into an innovation factory.

The factory was practically unused and its environment was turned into an urban trauma center. It was a large space and had made the city ugly. The owners of the place were unable to restore it. In fact, the idea of successful experiences abroad, such as in France and Germany, was implemented in Iran, meaning that urban worn-out places were turned into a place for startup work and activity. Startups pay less for their business because of the shared nature of their business.

How did it work with the Tehran innovation factory, which has become famous? What was necessary for its implementation?

This has been implemented by the Vice-Presidency with the help of some accelerators and with the support of the municipality of Tehran. The owner was also willing to cooperate. In fact, the old and worn-out factory was first rented for five years and for 10 and 15 years. There are 10 halls each allocated to an accelerator with a specific topic. There are six thousand startups in the country, mostly working in the IT field. We wanted the startup activities to expand to other areas as well. The factory now operates accelerators in Biotech, Urban, Artificial Intelligence, Fintech, and other areas.

This part is also invested by the private sector. In fact, the private sector used the facilities, exemptions, and incentives of the Vice-Presidency to provide jobs for a large number of youth near one of the best universities in the country with minimum problems. It is an advantage that startup youth can work in these spaces along with accelerators, large companies, and mentors.

Has the Vice-Presidency attempted to implement and develop the successful experience of Tehran Innovation Factory in other provinces?

Yes, exactly. Tehran Innovation Factory was a successful experience, and innovation factories have products, similar to all factories, and the product of this factory is the emergence of startups, such as Keshmoon.

The startup was emerged from Qaen, Khorasan Province but was nurtured in Tehran Innovation Factory with the cooperation of the municipality of Mashhad. Moghan Leather Factory was formed in Ardabil with the help of investors. In addition, the innovation factory of Shiraz was recently opened. In Mashhad, we are prepared to open an innovation factory as well. In the past week, two centers were opened in Gorgan and Gonbad in the presence of Dr. Sattari. It is aimed to open at least one center in each province. However, the urban and academic status of the province was in a way that its authorities demanded two centers.

There is a criticism of the Vice-Presidency, and some say that do we really need so many startups, or better yet, is the potential for startups in the country that high that there would be a need for an innovation factory in the country?

We have to say that this is a new experience. The success or, God forbid, the failure of the project will be observed in the future. I believe that the startup space mainly includes an idea or need and a team that follows up the project. In other words, a startup is created when there is an idea and the founders are seriously following up on the realization of the idea. Startups are not formed based on orders and circulars. If there is local demand, why not welcome it? Why do some people only want to nag? The Vice-Presidency has signed an agreement to establish such centers but does not control them. These centers are managed by Tabriz, Shiraz, Zahedan or Gorgan universities. We will help them by providing the necessary facilities. In fact, we provide two types of financial and spiritual facilities.

-Do you mean that there was a need for innovation factories that actually provide a joint working space with the ability to interact with investors? Does this number of centers overlap?

Actually, the factories of different provinces do not overlap. Such centers are created for innovation in each province based on their local ecosystem. One center might mostly focus on medical plants while another center produces leather. We have to let these phenomena happen so that the company’s experience would increase in the field. We can use the experiences of the centers in gatherings and identify their weaknesses. Currently, we have five provincial centers that need to be developed.

However, most statistics show that the majority of startups are established in Tehran.

Today, we have about six thousand startups in the country. You are actually correct and this is unfortunately true. However, the important thing is that good steps have been taken in other cities and provinces. If you ask me where are the best startups in the field of games and animations based, I will say Kurdistan Province. I make this claim based on financial return and the number of games produced and even exported. These are facts that show that in our different cities, people who can make improvements and be seen in the startup ecosystem are not scarce.

It has been said that our accelerators are less able to invest in startups due to sanctions. Is that true?

If a part of this issue was related to the outside of the country, we could have said that it is related. However, most of our accelerators are at the beginning of their path and consider national companies. At first, the sanctions caused a little shock in the country, but eventually most of the sanctions helped to highlight the ecosystem of startups, especially the technology-based ones. For instance, would Aparat become this well-known if the YouTube website was not filtered? The same applies to other areas. Nonetheless, the startups that have established in Iran but have a small market in the country are supported. Many startups or knowledge-based companies sell products to Korea and China. We must strive to make our accelerators, one of the major players in the innovation ecosystem, stronger and stronger. I agree that one of the demands of the community and the media is that we should not fall short of our standards for startups and knowledge companies. That is why over the past five years, approximately 1,000 companies have been abolished of the knowledge-based term. Because the product of these companies must have the innovation to convince the working group of knowledge-based companies. This is also an annual process. If they lose their momentum and innovation after a year, their knowledge-based credit is withdrawn.

You are the secretary of the knowledge-based economy and culture-building technologies development headquarter. A few years ago, many would mock the terms startups and knowledge-based companies. Today, a part of the society cannot live without startups. However, the traditional sector is still against this stream. What can we do so make the traditional sector accept this change?

In order to establish the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in the country, the Vice-Presidency conducted various assessments in the government, in the Islamic consultative assembly, and in people. In the end, we concluded that culture-building is required in this field. Culture-building means the use of the potential of the community to promote startup thinking. A few years ago, the field of science and technology was just a fantasy and not considered as an important issue. Today, things have changed in this field. A new phenomenon occurs every day, and no one can work without the necessary expertise. The scientific discourse was initiated by the Supreme Leader many years ago and now has spread throughout society. The same happened in the field of startups. The law to support and establish knowledge-based companies was first introduced in 2010 while the first companies were formed in 2013. This required cultural work to establish knowledge-based economy. Families, the media, and even the parliament and the government had to deal with these issues.

 

Do you think that the government’s interactions with startups have improved in the last few years?

Until six-seven years ago, the traditional sector was against startups. Now, this attitude is changed. Until a few years ago, the first places to apply startup filtering were government agencies themselves since they believed that they are regulators. However, the Vice-Presidency and related ministries established a committee in the government and obligated governmental units to refer to the committee first to complain about a specific startup. Therefore, in addition to its normal activities, the Vice-Presidency started holding festivals such as “Iran Sakht” to develop this culture. Formerly, TV programs such as “90” and “7” were related to soccer games and cinema news, respectively. However, there are different channels that produce startup-related programs. In addition, Friday Imams and representatives of Islamic consultative assembly have entered this area as well.

In the past, all banks were against the formation of fintechs (banking startups). Today, most important banks know that they should not create additional branches and must invest in fintechs. This change of view has taken or is taking place in all aspects of our lives. In some cases, such as Internet services, people are more tangible now, but in the future, the importance of startups will become apparent in other areas.

When we talk about startups, some people immediately refer to services such as online taxies or food reservation apps. Can you give an example of startup activity in a new field?

An example would be non-military UAVs. Startups that are now emerging in the commercial and civilian UAVs field in Iran are a good example. The worldwide commercial UAV market has a turnover of nearly $ 127 billion. We have 4.5 million students, some of whom work in the aerospace field. Not all of them can be active in the defense and military sectors and some of them can use their knowledge in the civilian space.

We can now use these UAVs in the country in the fields of transportation, personal security, traffic, meteorology, agriculture, and product distribution. Some may still be laughing at it like before, but this is the future.

Do you mean that the development of startups in the aerospace field has been put on the agenda?

We have created a colony in the aerospace as well as commercial UAVs where knowledge-based companies and startups grow. Right now, there are about 60-70 startups that have a product available in this area. We are both very powerful in terms of human resources and not far behind in this respect. I think in the near future, Iran will be one of the countries that will be involved in this area. The first commercial UAV innovation center was unveiled last year. Today, we have good startups in this field and we have achieved export in this area. We can say that Iran's startup ecosystem in the Middle East is now greater than Silicon Valley.

The contrast between traditional and startup businesses in Iran is well known. From online taxis to other areas. Do you have any advice for these traditional companies?

We must tell these businesses that the speed of technology is more than their imagination. The nation's largest businesses, which we call pioneers, have to invest in startups to stay afloat. Young people will certainly win against traditions because of their knowledge and courage. Our traditional businesses must invest in them to prevent them from failing completely. You must know that the founder of one of the currently successful startups of the country in the software field proposed his idea to one of these operators, who did not believe him. The manager of this operate would say that what can this “child” do? We can do it all. This person continued his work and became successful. The employment era is ended and people do not just want to be recruited. Families must think about starting their own startups. Startups are formed based on needs and become successful with perseverance. Yes, there is a high chance for failure but perseverance will eventually lead to success.

We immediately think about services such as online taxis or food reservation apps. Can you give an example of startup activity in a new field?

An example would be non-military UAVs. Startups that are now emerging in the commercial and civilian UAVs field in Iran are a good example. The worldwide commercial UAV market has a turnover of nearly $ 127 billion. We have 4.5 million students, some of whom work in the aerospace field. Not all of them can be active in the defense and military sectors and some of them can use their knowledge in the civilian space. We can now use these UAVs in the country in the fields of transportation, personal security, traffic, meteorology, agriculture, and product distribution. Some may still be laughing at it like before, but this is the future.

Do you mean that the development of startups in the aerospace field has been put on the agenda?

We have created a colony in the aerospace as well as commercial UAVs where knowledge-based companies and startups grow. Right now, there are about 60-70 startups that have a product available in this area. We are both very powerful in terms of human resources and not far behind in this respect. I think in the near future, Iran will be one of the countries that will be involved in this area. The first commercial UAV innovation center was unveiled last year. Today, we have good startups in this field and we have achieved export in this area. We can say that Iran's startup ecosystem in the Middle East is now greater than Silicon Valley.

The contrast between traditional and startup businesses in Iran is well known. From online taxis to other areas. Do you have any advice for these traditional companies?

We must tell these businesses that the speed of technology is more than their imagination. The nation's largest businesses, which we call pioneers, have to invest in startups to stay afloat. Young people will certainly win against traditions because of their knowledge and courage. Our traditional businesses must invest in them to prevent them from failing completely. You must know that the founder of one of the currently successful startups of the country in the software field proposed his idea to one of these operators, who did not believe him. The manager of this operate would say that what can this “child” do? We can do it all. This person continued his work and became successful. The employment era is ended and people do not just want to be recruited. Families must think about starting their own startups. Startups are formed based on needs and become successful with perseverance. Yes, there is a high chance for failure but perseverance will eventually lead to success.