This is how startups become knowledge-based

Startups have many opportunities from very beginning but due to lack of experience or facilities, they often lose those opportunities.

But one of the ways to use these opportunities is government support. Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology establishes centers which support these startups.

These supports include exemption from taxes, laws on military service and financial facilities.

This ministry has defined two ways for support; startups which are at the beginning of the way are supported by accelerating innovation service of science deputy.

Startups which have become stable and are legal entities can be known as a knowledge-based company as well.

Three Types of Supportive Activities

This center supports holding promotion events and teaching entrepreneur skills. These events are useful for those who have an idea but they can’t implement it. They learn how to grow their ideas.

Supporting startups with accelerators is the second thing that is done in this center. Akbar Ghanbari, Director of the National Iranian technomart, says:

“Accelerators have been executed since two years ago. First accelerators are made with the cooperation of this center and now there are about 8 accelerators which work under the supervision of innovation center.”

He says: “the deputy support accelerators in initial stages and help them start more quickly. Secondly, it builds a network and helps them share their experiences and information to each other.

Thirdly, it issues their license and allows them to cooperate and interact with public and private entities.”

According to Ghanbari, designing and running an accelerator requires expertise and knowledge, therefore Deputy for Science wants to recognize accelerators as knowledge-based companies so that they can use legal benefits. The first accelerator developed in 1393.

Deputy’s second plan about startups is that when startups become a team, company and a commercialized product, this Deputy supports them according to “knowledge-based companies support law”.

There are 3 types of knowledge-based companies one of which is “nascent knowledge-based companies”.

Most of startups are nascent knowledge-based companies for example they should provide knowledge-based products or services and have at least two full-time employees. Also they should have not started their business for more than 5 years.

Mr. Ghanbari says that when a startup is known as a knowledge-based company, it can use a series of supports under this law.

These companies need resources for product development. If a startup refer to bank in order to get loan, that bank looks at its tangible assets but these companies don’t have any tangible assets.

But according to this law, there are some funds which don’t look at startups this way. They may consider their innovation or knowledge as asset and offer them interest-free loans. Currently this amount is up to 300 million Tomans.

Government considers exemption from taxes for 15 years. That is, if they gain profit at the end of the fiscal year no taxes would be applied to it.

Now if a startup enters Science and Technology Park, its work force will be exempted from taxes on wage. Each startup can send its request to Science and Technology Park of its city.

He also talks about new laws which help these startups: “another law is made which is not related to IT or software.

Companies which want to provide products, should be locate outside a radius of 120 km from Tehran and 50 kilometers from Isfahan and etc. but knowledge-based companies can be located inside these cities.

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