Iran Gov’t to Direct Investment Towards IT

EghtesadOnline: The Vice Presidency for Science and Technology has established a new task force called ‘ICT Committee’ to promote investment in information technology companies.

News ID: ۷۴۴۰۶۶

15 October 2017

Pointing to the plan to foster the domestic ICT sector the committee’s director, Mehdi Faqihi, says, “There should be a balance between investment in telecoms and IT businesses. It is high time for the latter to receive its fair share,” CITNA reported.

Faqihi said, “More than 90% of the national funds allocated to the telecoms and IT businesses are used by the telecom industries and expansion of communication infrastructure, while the IT sector hardly comes close to 10% of the allocations.”

Due to visible lack of investment, the software development and IT sector lag behind the major telecom businesses, Financian Tribune quoted him as saying.

To accelerate growth in the key sector, the committee will concentrate on the revision of present policies so as to make it compatible with global trends.

Faqihi says, “Some developed countries have based their economies on IT and focus on startup ecosystems. In order to boost such businesses in Iran, a comprehensive plan has been drawn up to pave the way for fledgling startups that move in line with market demand.”

He also referred to ‘unicorn startups’ and their absence in Iran. A unicorn is a startup company valued at over $1 billion. The term was coined in 2013 by venture capitalist Aileen Lee, choosing the mythical animal to represent the statistical rarity of such successful ventures.

Faqihi believes that substantial investment by the government and strong state support can help some local startups to grow and gradually transform into unicorns. However, while the goal is farfetched and some may even call it a bit too unrealistic, focus on and investment in startups would certainly be welcome news.