$40m in Guarantees for Knowledge-Based Firms

EghtesadOnline: Iran's Innovation and Prosperity Fund issued 10 trillion rials ($40 million) in guarantees for knowledge-based companies during the first eight months (March 20- Nov. 21) of the current fiscal year.

News ID: ۷۵۱۵۶۱

24 November 2020

ISNA reported that 670 knowledge-based firms benefited from the special fund and use the guarantee amount as collateral to ensure their contractual commitments to companies using their goods and services.

By issuing guarantees the fund helped pave the way for selling products/services of knowledge-based companies worth 50 trillion rials ($196 million).

As per earlier agreements between IPF and 15 commercial banks, the fund put up half of the money needed for the guarantees. Banks offered 30% discount on the guarantee issuance fees.

A bank guarantee is a type of financial backstop offered by a lender and means that the lender will ensures that the financial commitment(s) of a debtor will be met.

Knowledge-based companies in Tehran Province accounted for the majority of IPF applicants, followed by Fars and Isfahan provinces.

IPF data show firms producing advanced machinery and laser and electronic hardware had the largest share of the total guarantees during the eight months.

Iranian businesses are gradually moving from traditional ways to more knowledge-based systems. Knowledge-based enterprises are making a decent contribution to economic growth by increasing added value, experts say.

According to the Vice Presidential Office for Science and Technology, 4,800 knowledge-based companies are active nationwide with a 300,000 payroll.

A knowledge-based economy is a system of consumption and production based on intellectual capital, in which a significant part of the company’s value may consist of intangible assets, mainly the value of its workers’ knowledge (intellectual capital).

The scope of a knowledge-based economy is not limited to the technology industry, it can also be used in other sectors like information technology, nanotechnology and biotechnology and other high tech firms.

Accelerating the growth of knowledge-based firms and supporting startups have been high on the government’s agenda. This includes establishing tech centers, providing free workplaces and offering financial grants.

Iranian knowledge-based companies and tech firms reportedly generated 130 trillion rials ($812 million) in the last fiscal year that ended in March. Banks and credit institutions lent 137.6 trillion rials ($860 million) to 1,108 knowledge-based companies in the last fiscal year.