The twelfth edition of the Innotex 2023 technology and innovation exhibition began today at Pardis Technology Park, with more than 400 knowledge-based, technological, and innovative companies, over 70,000 active business stakeholders, 150 investors, and 20 side events, showcasing the latest achievements in the technology and innovation ecosystem to domestic and international audiences.

Rouhollah Dehghani, the Vice-President of Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy, said at the opening of the twelfth edition of Innotex 2023: "After twelve rounds of Innotex, we have gained valuable experiences. These experiences are the guiding light of the future of the technology and innovation ecosystem, and we are striving to make capacities and facilities available to develop knowledge-based companies as much as possible."

He continued: "Since its inception, the technology and innovation ecosystem has been facing challenges, trends, waves, and currents. We have experienced startup trends, technological issues, and the economy of knowledge. Today, the seedlings of the technology and innovation ecosystem have grown well, so that we can see the effects of these efforts, which span more than a decade, in this year's Innotex."

Dehghani called the knowledge-based production leap law a valuable opportunity to support nascent and technological companies and said: "As the law on supporting knowledge-based companies is a progressive and effective law in enriching the technology and innovation ecosystem, the knowledge-based production leap law, with more serious determination, features, and facilities, provides a platform for the growth and prosperity of knowledge-based businesses."

He added: "Today, we are seeking to create a stable and real market for knowledge-based companies because the most important need of companies today is innovative ways to provide their capital and create a real market for their products and services. Based on this, serious planning has been done in the Vice-Presidency of Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy in two areas of creating opportunities for domestic and foreign markets for these companies."

The head of the National Elites Foundation considered intellectual and creative assets as the most important capital of the technology and innovation ecosystem and added: "To have a vibrant ecosystem with continuous and powerful inputs, based on past experiences and capacities of various technology fields, we have taken steps to support consortia of knowledge-based companies and create large and influential companies in various technological areas."

Dehghani continued: "In strategic and pivotal areas of the knowledge-based economy, such as water, climate and environment, biotechnology, soft technologies, food security, mining, and agriculture, we sign valuable contracts with stakeholders of these technologies to create large markets that will be the audience of knowledge-based products. Contracts worth nearly $3 billion were signed with various industries and stakeholders last year, which promises a capable and powerful knowledge-based ecosystem with the benefit of a large and real market."

Referring to support for the formation of nascent knowledge-based companies through the announcement of a new support package based on the new evaluation system for knowledge-based companies, Dehghani said: "A support package has been planned for knowledge-based companies that are about to be formed in the country and rise from the heart of the university to become seedlings that will produce sweet value-added fruits in the near future. The implementation process of the plan will begin this June."

Vice Presidency of Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy