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Isolation by the West Fuels a Tech Startup Boom in Iran

posted by CoolHand on Monday June 05 2017, @09:21PM   Printer-friendly
from the breeding-innovation dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

The Islamic Republic remains in many ways cut off economically from the rest of the world. Big-name Western brands shun the market for fear of violating sanctions that remain in place even after the country's landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

That means no KFC—just local upstarts like "Iran Fried Chicken"—or credit and ATM cards connected to global banking networks. Visitors to the country must carry in thick wads of dollars. Many popular social-networking sites like Facebook are blocked by government censors.

Order from Amazon or call an Uber? Forget about it.

In their place, a surprisingly active tech startup scene has sprung up. It's driven by a growing number of Iranian millennials who see their country of 80 million people not as an isolated outcast but as a market ripe with opportunity.

Among the fastest-growing companies in the digital transformation is Snapp, the ride-hailing app Meisami uses.

He estimates he makes more than $900 working in a good month, pulling in a much larger cut per fare than he would driving for a traditional taxi-style car service. His hours are long—12 hours a day most days a week—but he likes being able to pick when and where he works.

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  • (Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday June 05 2017, @11:15PM (1 child)

    by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) Subscriber Badge <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Monday June 05 2017, @11:15PM (#521031) Homepage Journal

    I looked into this carefully when I was mailing free copies of my piano CD [soggywizards.com].

    Certain individuals and organizations - such as the Republican Guard - are embargoed, but most of the population is not.

    --
    Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by n1 on Tuesday June 06 2017, @12:24AM

    by n1 (993) on Tuesday June 06 2017, @12:24AM (#521065) Journal

    Banking and Insurance industries in Iran are heavily sanctioned by the US and EU, so even if related industries are technically not covered, there is effectively no way to engage in business in Iran without a lot of red flags coming up for US and EU banks. You will need to engage in lengthy consultations with your government and your banks should you wish to have any business interests in Iran. Most banks will simply just refuse, even if your industry or bank in question is not the target of sanctions. Sending some CDs as gifts is entirely different from commercial activity.

    On 17 March 2012, following agreement two days earlier between all 27 member states of the Council of the European Union, and the Council's subsequent ruling, the SWIFT electronic banking network, the world hub of electronic financial transactions, disconnected all Iranian banks from its international network that had been identified as institutions in breach of current EU sanctions, and that further Iranian financial institutions could be disconnected from its network.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran–European_Union_relations#Sanctions [wikipedia.org]