The Director of the Middle East and Africa Division of Trade Policy Bureau of Ministry of Economy of Japan along with a delegation from the economic department of the Japanese Embassy in Iran came to the Tehran Chamber to learn about Iran’s economic potential and to discuss the areas of cooperation between the two countries in negotiations with the head of the Economic Commission for Innovation and Digital Transformation and some managers of the chamber.

In the meeting, Head of Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Takayuki Suzuki said that economic activities in the sanctions are difficult, adding that due to the growth of start-ups in Iran, Japanese Companies are keen to cooperate and broaden cooperation with Iran and JETRO is keen to know which start-ups in Iran have grown and become successful.

Japan Economy Ministry official Mr. Yasujiro, for his part, said that the goal behind his visit to Tehran is to know economic capacities of Iran despite sanctions and called for more details and information on the current status of some industries in Iran like auto-making, start-up ecosystem and Iranian universities. He then talked about possibility of cooperation in the field of start-ups and extending these cooperation to the scientific and university fields.

JETRO, or the Japan External Trade Organization, is a government-related organization that works to promote mutual trade and investment between Japan and the rest of the world. Originally established in 1958 to promote Japanese exports abroad, JETRO’s core focus in the 21st century has shifted toward promoting foreign direct investment into Japan and helping small to medium size Japanese firms maximize their global export potential.

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And now startups manifest their growth during recent years by presenting their products and services in seven halls of the exhibition.

Startups open new windows of opportunity for removing social, economic and even environmental challenges worldwide and Iran is not an exception.

The motivation and innovation of young entrepreneurs, who are the founders of startups, is a great chance, which should not be ignored by officials and organizations.

ELECOM Stars hosts different ranges of startups from emerging to well-established ones with reasonable prices in order to encourage all the people active in the field of the innovation ecosystem.

Officials are concerned about the attendance of innovators as well as visitors in this edition of the exhibition due to the hard economic situation as a result of the sanctions.

However, startups which fill seven halls of the exhibition show the dynamicity of the innovation ecosystem in these hard days.

During a meeting on the sidelines of the exhibition, the head of the Iranian Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Guild Organization, Mohammad Baqer Asna-Ashari, said that many startups which attended the previous edition of ELECOM Stars requested bigger stands in this edition.

“This shows the growth of startups during a year and also the role of ELECOMP in their activities,” he said.

Startups are stars in the sky of smart Iran

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi said during the opening ceremony of the event that as its name suggests, ELECOM Stars is home to the startups which shine like stars in the sky of smart Iran.

He pointed to No-Afarin, a scheme introduced by the Information and Communication Technology Ministry to support startups last week, with the slogan of ‘Smart Iran, brighter future’, saying, “Today, many tasks can be done by a click and this digital transformation should be considered by managers in order to increase their efficiency and expand markets.”

In the near future, the digital economy would be the prevalent kind of economy worldwide, he said.

“Despite U.S. sanctions, young entrepreneurs in the field of ICT can use the national digital economy in order to expand markets.”

ELECOMP, hope for a better future

As a gathering of the innovation ecosystem of Iran, ELECOMP promises a better future which is realized by the motivation and energy of the young generation.

Startups and their services have a direct impact on the everyday life of people and this is one of their strong points.

Being a part of the private sector, their efficiency is an important factor for their consistency and it is linked with their benefits for the public.

As you can see, startups provide a market which benefits entrepreneurs and people at the same time and perhaps this is the key to their growth during recent years.

The good news is that the government has recognized their unique potentialities and abilities and plan to support them with no direct intervention, an approach that paves the way for the development of the innovation ecosystem in the future.

ELECOMP 2019

In addition to ELECOM Stars, ELECOM Talks, ELECOM Trends, and ELECOM Games are other parts of the event, which runs until July 21.

This edition of ELECOMP has also designed ELECOM Tours in order to provide special programs for visiting the exhibition as well.

This edition of ELECOMP also provides a user-friendly place for startups that bring disability solutions to the market. Tech breakthroughs that empower people with disabilities have set up stands with special features.

Since its first edition in 1995, the event has been providing a unique opportunity for businesses to increase their share of this huge and ever-growing market.

The event provides an opportunity for companies to share knowledge, build vendor relationships and work with prominent companies, active in the field of electronics and computer to enhance their market spread.

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Not solving a large enough problem

By far the largest startup-killer is no market need. Too many startups are creating solutions that are interesting as opposed to needed. The greatest startups were formed when the founders saw a massive pain point — typically one they had experienced themselves — and no adequate solution in the market. This manufactures the perfect opportunity to either be a first-to-market leader or to reinvent a painfully traditional industry with efficiency.

Is your solution a vitamin (nice to have) or paracetamol (must have)? In order to acquire customers at scale and retain them, the problem has to be one that customers would be very disappointed to live without. A great way to test this is through a customer stickiness study. Ask each of your customers if your product was no longer available to them, would they be:

1. a) Very disappointed;
   b) Somewhat disappointed; or
   c) Not very disappointed.

If the majority of the answers are a) very disappointed, you know you’re on to a winner. If not, it may be time to think of pivoting. Either way, listen to your target market! They are the best source of actionable feedback you can use to better your business.

This is the same method that award winning Iranian entrepreneur Bijan Zamani used back in the days when he wanted to start building his startup project MihanPezeshk, he said during 10^th Annual Iranian Web Festival. People had trouble finding doctors in Iran because there was no sources available to find even a doctor’s phone number other than calling 118 with no extra information about their work, so the idea was solving a large problem that nearly 70 million Iranians had at that time. Now the 8-year-old startup’s services are undeniably popular because the startup was on the right path from the beginning. Bijan Zamani believes there are still many problems that can be solved and Iran’s internet market is still untapped. According to Zamani’s interview with MehrNews he has two new startups lined up for 2020.

Running out of money

Cash burns quickly — typically much quicker than expected. It is ideal to raise enough money each round to give you 18–24 months of runway to ensure you have enough buffer to find more capital if times get tough. Particularly in the early stages of finding product market fit, money needs to be put towards marketing, customer acquisition and pivoting until the value proposition clicks. Unfortunately, this is not a cheap exercise.

When cash does get tight, naturally finding additional capital to replenish your bank account is needed. However, what happens when you can’t gain investor interest? Especially in smaller markets it can be challenging looking for capital. Always start fundraising long before you think you will need it — it is almost never as straightforward and quick as you think so leave lots of cushion room!

Not the right team

Not a single entrepreneur has become successful completely on their own. The most successful leaders have surrounded themselves with the best people — whether it’s employees, business partners or advisors. Particularly when creating the Startup Dream Team, a complimentary mix of skillsets is an essential. A staggering number of failed startups claim their reason for defeat is lack of diversity in abilities.

An idea doesn’t get funded — the expectation of execution of an idea does, and what better way to demonstrate execution capability than with evidence? Co-founders with a mix of sales and marketing, finance and operations, and technical skills will have a better chance than many at surpassing typical hurdles that startups face.

Startups are gruelling and sometimes it may seem like there will be no respite from challenge after challenge, but preparing from the get-go to anticipate the likely pitfalls are a sure way to avoid wasting time and energy when they inevitably present themselves down the road.

Many Iranian entrepreneurs like Hamid Mohammadi, Bijan Zamani, Nazanin Daneshvar or Reza Arbabian during the Startups Conference in Tehran agreed on these causes.

The post Why Startups Fail and What You Can Learn From Them appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Bijan Zamani got his entrepreneurial hustle growing up in Iran. His startup now is being used by more than 2,000,000 Iranian people per month and covers 25 out of 31 provinces in Iran.

Having launched and managed his startup “MihanPezeshk” in the middle of the financial crisis, this founder can provide a lot of insight for others on what it takes to make it through tough economic times, and how to come out on the other side stronger than ever.

Bijan Zamani in 2018 was named as one of the top 30 innovators in Iran under the age of 30 by IranEntrepreneur’s 30 under 30. Back in 2007, he was named as one of the top 20 entrepreneurs under 20 years of age by Elmerooz Weekly Newspaper.

MihanPezeshk is an online medical care appointment booking and consulting platform, providing free of charge medical care search facility for end users by integrating information about medical practices and doctors’ individual schedules in a central location and the ability to have an online consulting with the designated doctor.

According to Google Search reports more than 30 million Iranians use this platform each year and it makes this platform one of the top business in the digital health field in Iran.

Being the only online medical platform that gathers patient reviews for doctor medical organizations this feature has improved the healthcare quality in Iran. Now that patients can freely write their review for their doctor and service the competition between providers has risen which is great for the patient and much better for doctors who provide good service so it’s a win-win situation.

We have seen many digital health startups over the years. Many have come strong with high budgets and funding’s but faded quickly and the reason is unknown. “MihanPezeshk” has been working and growing over the last 8 years and we hope to see more of it in future as well.

There are many startups in Iran such as Digikala, Snapp, Divar, Takhfifan or Aparat which have grown in their field of work but we haven’t seen much activity in the digital health sector.

But we hope this will change. Tehran’s tech community is banking on leaders like Zamani, to do more than recruit others to the sector; they’re counting on him, with a requisite failure and success under her belt, to be one of Iran’s pioneering mentors.

The post The digital health startup that is improving healthcare appeared first on Iran News Daily.

A vacation rental is the renting out of a house, apartment, villa or any accommodation to a tourist as an alternative to hotels.  In the past three years, a few players have entered this market.

According to the report on vacation rental market in Iran, only two percent of bookings are done online in Iran yet, which shows the potential of this market for online platforms.  Note that the average commission rate for connecting the host to the guest is about 16.6%.

The report also reveals the percentage of different accommodation types. This percentage is based on per person per Night number in total. This means that tourists have used vacation rentals (with an overnight stay) more than any other type of accommodation. The biggest share of the market goes to vacation rental with 31 percent. The runner up is private accommodation with 23 percent. It follows by public accommodation including hotels with 13 percent, which is neck to neck with staying in tents with 12 percent. The remaining nine percent goes to other types of accommodation.

The business model for vacation rentals is an example of a shared economy in which, individuals give services to each other and unlike the traditional model (hotels), people participate and earn money themselves.

In this model, the online platform connects tourists to hosts. Benefiting from the vacant capacity of any rentable accommodation including people’s houses, apartments, and villas as well as helping the owners to earn money by renting their property for a short period of time.

The online rental vacations noticeably decreases the cost of accommodation services for tourists, which in turn can help to stimulate the country’s economy. In addition to that, empowering this market can help local businesses and stores such as restaurants, recreational and commercial centers to grow too.

Average basket value of 7.110 million rials

In 2018, local tourists rented the accommodations in groups of 3.8 people for about 2.4 days on average. The cost of a vacation rental for 2.4 days, with the average daily rate of 2.930 million rials (about 70 dollars), is about 7.110 million rials (about 170 dollars).

5.8 million vacation rental bookings per year

In 2018, vacation rentals had nearly 5.8 million bookings of 24,000 owners and 64,000 properties. The notable point is that it has been the direct and indirect source of income for 103,000 people.

Comparing vacation rental market with other sectors in Iran

Tourism in Iran has an estimated market size of 5 to 6 trillion rials (about 120 to 140 million dollars) annually which consists of different sectors. The vacation rental market with 41,280 billion rials (about $980 million) market in Iran, annual market size is a part of the tourism industry in Iran.

According to the report, the local hotel annual market is about 40 to 50 trillion rials (about $952 -$1,190 million) in Iran while the annual foreign hotel market is more than 15 billion rials (about $357,000).

The annual ecotourism market reaches about 20 trillion rials (about $476 million) which only a few of the vacation rental platforms have entered to.

The vacation rental market can also be compared to other startup sectors such as fintech and transportation.

The report shed lights on road transportation market in Iran. According to the report, the annual bus ticket market is something about 30 trillion rials (about $714 million).The annual motorbike delivery market is about 4,000 billion and the annual ride-hailing market in Tehran and seven other big cities is about 80 trillion rials (about $1,900 million).

The annual taxi change transaction market in Tehran and seven other big cities is nearly 60 trillion rials (about $1,420 million).

How vacation rental market size in Iran is calculated?

The main sources of this market research are the reports and surveys done by the Statistical Center of Iran from 2008 to 2018 which is generally done just for the season of spring. The main focus of these reports is on giving statistics on tourism in Iran.

However, the report considers the average length of stay, daily rate of vacation rentals, number of guests per stay, annual average number of properties’ rented days, number of properties owned by the host, number of owner’s dependents, commission rate, and percentage of bookings done online for more precise analysis.

The required data are compiled directly from five Iranian online vacation rental platforms.

Global vacation rental market size

According to reuters.com, with the slowdown in world economic growth, the vacation rental industry has also suffered a certain impact, but still maintained a relatively optimistic growth, the past four years, vacation rental market size to maintain the average annual growth rate of 10.81% from 61 million $ in 2014 to 83 million $ in 2017, Research analysts believe that in the next few years, Vacation Rental market size will be further expanded, we expect that by 2022, The market size of the Vacation Rental will reach 165 million $.

The global vacation rentals market has witnessed a rapid growth in the past few years, owing to the growing tourism industry worldwide. As compared to hotels, vacation rentals offer more flexibility with lodging. It is a cost-effective and more comfortable accommodation option for people looking to stay for a longer period of time, probably a week or more.

This market is growing off the online booking trend. The preference for instant bookings has increased among the consumers, and online booking provides an increased degree of service differentiation, by presenting many options for accommodation at varied price ranges to the customers. Farmhouses, private homes, beach houses, villas, cabins, cottages, short-term rental apartments, are only a few of the several types of housing places that are up for booking.

The increase in the number of domestic and international travels has given rise to the popularity of these short-term rental properties. They are convenient to book, with minimal to zero wait time, thus increasing customer satisfaction. These vacation rental homes are present on web-based listing sites, where customers can leave reviews for other customers to take advantage of, and suggestions for the homeowners to improve their stay. However, despite these listings, the major restraint in this market is the presence of fraudulent vacation rentals.

The post Iranian startups tap into vacation rental market appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Top talents are considered as one of the main pillars of new knowledge-based economy, so that many countries have considered plans for elites and domestic and foreign talents.

Identifying, attracting and promoting interactions with country’s non-resident talents can help promote capabilities in the fields of science, technology and innovation as well as creation of new economic added value.

Program for cooperating with Iranian experts and entrepreneurs living abroad was set up in Iran’s National Elites Foundation in order to take advantage of these capacities. Objectives of this comprehensive program include as follows: taking advantage of scientific and research capabilities of Iranian entrepreneurs living abroad in scientific, technological and industrial centers of the country, promoting scientific and research level of co-operative centers, providing suitable ways for the development of advanced and emerging technologies in the country, etc.

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Sourena Sattari made the remarks during the opening ceremony of the 11th International Exhibition of Exchange, Bank and Insurance, visiting some startup companies on April 17.

Sattari pointed to fast growth of startups in Iran due to warm welcoming of people for using services offered by them, ISNA reported on Wednesday.

“The rate of growth for some startups are 10 percent during a week,” he announced.

He called the past Iranian calendar year 1396 (March 20, 2017-March 20, 2018) as a good year for startups, which saw great achievements in startup ecosystem.

He said that startups provide transparent services to customers and this is the reason that people welcome startups.

“This new system [of startups] should be supported by insurance and exchange, otherwise the country would be a looser,” he said.

While middlemen resist the development of startups, people back innovative entrepreneurs, he said.

“No one can fight with startups. We should support these great number of talented young people and accept their novel ideas,” he explained.

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