TEHRAN – The members of the Knowledge-based Businesses Committee of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) gathered on Wednesday to discuss ways of facilitating the activities of such businesses in the country.Designing financing tools to support knowledge-based projects, designing indirect venture investment models, as well as training and empowering of knowledge-based companies were among the subjects discussed at the meeting, the ICCIMA portal reported.Based on the decisions made in the ICCIMA meeting, the implementation of the above-mentioned measures is going to be pursued by the Iranian Confederation of Knowledge-Based Associations (ICKA) in collaboration with the Electronics Support Fund for Research and Development (ESFRD).Speaking at the meeting, ESFRD Head Mohsen Naderi-Manesh said Ministry of Industry, Mining, and Trade is serious about directing the capital in the industry sector towards advanced and knowledge-based production and ESFRD is trying to make this happen through the capital market.He mentioned some of the services that his fund is currently offering to various businesses including providing bank facilities and granting guarantees, and noted that ESFRD’s support is not limited only to knowledge-based companies and businesses that operate in the field of advanced industries can also benefit from the fund’s services and facilities.Further in this gathering, Head of ICCIMA’s Knowledge-based Businesses Committee Afshin Kolahi praised ESFRD’s performance regarding the support of advanced industries, saying: “Some of the ICKA members, that are not knowledge-based but operate in the field of advanced industries, have been always deprived of receiving facilities and services and now ESFRD can solve this problem.”We all agree on the framework of collaborations between the fund and knowledge-based firms, Kolahi said adding that business-related institutions and organizations are the best places for evaluating knowledge-based projects and companies to receive support from the fund.“Therefore, they can collaborate with the fund and establish the required communication.

In addition, the services and activities of ESFRD can be added to the consultations and services that are currently provided by ICKA,” he said.EF/MA