The telecoms network operator has launched a venture capital scheme in partnership with Iran's University of Tehran.
University of Tehran will partner with telecommunications network MTN-Irancell to launch an IT-focused venture capital fund of undisclosed size aimed at building the country’s innovation ecosystem, Xinhua has reported.
The proposal includes plans for an accelerator and an innovation hub built by Irancell on a 3,000-metre site at the university’s College of Engineering.
Irancell, a joint venture between South Africa-based MTN and electronics producer Iran Electronics Industries, hopes ideas from the hub, along with portfolio investments and those of other VC partnerships, will allow it to build its stake in emerging IT technologies.
The corporate already has VC agreements in place with the Khuzestan provincial government and the municipality of Mashhad, as well as unspecified IT-focused businesses and research centres.
Sorena Sattari, vice-president for science and technology in Iran’s government, has stated that VC partnerships are necessary to drive sustainable finance in the country.
The government believes Iran’s IT infrastructure must be enhanced if the country is to generate more high-tech jobs for graduates, according to Mehdi Faqihi, secretary of the administration’s IT, Communication and Cyberspace Development Council.
Faqihi said the council is ready to accelerate the regulatory process for the vehicle, which is expected to exploit knowledge sector expertise from both the university and Irancell.
– The original version of this story appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.
