Tehran(Bazaar): As Iranian knowledge-based people, despite their ability to supply, face sales problems, It is necessary to design specialized plans with the participation of the private and public sectors and to facilitate government agencies, Meysam Abbasi tells Bazaar in an exclusive interview.
He also says that due to our economy is essentially based on the sale of oil and gas and raw materials, there is a need to move towards a knowledge-based economy rather than just a basic oil economy.
Meysam Abbasi, is the head of the Institute of Advanced Technologies and Artificial Intelligence , and the director of the Innovation Department of Iran &Turkey.
Following is the text of the interview:
Bazaar: Although the role of knowledge-based and technology companies in the development of the economy of developed countries is becoming more and more prominent, but in Iran, despite the emphasis of Supreme Leader, this role has not yet been properly explained. First, what is your assessment of this issue? Second, what strategies do you suggest for knowledge-based entry into the sales market?
Abbasi: Regarding to knowledge-based companies, we have several issues to discuss. one of them is, the foreign sanctions issue. These sanctions have prevented the process of technology and production of knowledge-based and technology-based products in the country from being placed in international cycles as it should be.
On the other hand, in the telecommunication and digital sectors, we have potentials and capacities that causes those sectors won`t be effectively operate abroad and in foreign markets, either in the form of cooperation or in the form of technology import and sale.
But, on the other hand, these sanctions have also had a number of benefits; Due to the need we have felt in various industries, including energy and equipment, especially equipment manufacturing and technical knowledge, we have been forced to act on our own and produce many of our own needs.
Also, because our economy is essentially based on the sale of oil and gas and raw materials, there is a need to move towards a knowledge-based economy rather than a base oil economy. Accordingly, and according to the statements of the Supreme Leader, the importance of this issue will be multiplied.
In this regard, my suggestion is to increase the entry facilities for knowledge-based companies, so that they can enter the business cycle. Unfortunately, one of our problems is that knowledge-based companies often have problems in their marketing; That is, a product is very precisely competitive with similar products and even better produced, while it has problems in entering the cycles of the country's needs.
Another issue is that we operate as an island in the country; That is, different collections are imported and based on their needs, they develop products that meet the needs of the country in the form of an island.
More precisely, a knowledge-based company provides a product to an organization and a collection, that organization has used that product if this product can be used for other organizations and ministries.
That is why we need to create models at the highest levels with the participation of government agencies and ministries as facilitators that primarily identify the potentials, capacities and levels of knowledge-based companies for each task.
Then, the needs of the company are identified as a network and these companies can use roadmaps in three levels of short-term, medium-term and long-term to enter the market supply and demand potential.
Bazaar: Why is difficult the sale of knowledge-based products in Iran, and there is a concern for relevant companies?
Abbasi:The fact is that the knowledge-based companies often have problems in the business debate, that is, they have the ability to supply the product, but they have problems in the sales debate.
This is primarily due to the fact that the various sectors operate on an island, as well as sanctions and the sale of raw materials and their non-change to technology.
If we change the direction of technology sales towards raw materials, in addition to meeting domestic needs, we will be able to meet the needs of the region and even global markets.
This requires that at high levels we implement a series of standard methods in line with the modeling of successful countries such as Singapore and Malaysia, while incorporating several indicators.
One of them is the facilitation of government agencies to create facilities for the sale of products of knowledge-based companies.
Accordingly, the government should provide sales consulting services for these products and market them. In fact, the government should also define the supply and demand market for them under one platform so that these companies can market their products at the highest level.
One of the part of this market is related to the needs of various ministries and industries, and the other part is related to actors in this field, such as various factories, which need a device that for various reasons, including sanctions, can not enter Iran.
Accordingly, it seems necessary for the government, with the concurrence of the private sector, to design models for a knowledge-based company to locate its product. In addition, it is the duty of the government to connect companies operating in the field of business with knowledge-based companies; In other words, these companies should sell knowledge-based products, earn a percentage of their profits and make a win-win deal, because then commercial companies will have new products to sell, while for a knowledge-based company, a A consulting suite will be created for sale and products will be sold on a larger scale.
Therefore, our decision makers must design a set of methods that increase the effectiveness of knowledge-based sales. While it may take a lot of effort for a product to reach the point of sale, it will be a failure.
So, it requires special people and real and expert collections to market these products in addition to marketing. Of course, this program should be considered and implemented for the whole country and not for a specific region and province.
In order to carry out these measures, creative methods such as holding exhibitions and specialized events can also be used, so that knowledge-based companies are increasingly introduced and identified to people inside and outside the country.
Bazaar: What are the challenges facing Iranian knowledge-based companies?
Abbasi: One of the main challenges for Iranian knowledge-based companies is the sanctions issue, which has made it difficult for these companies to attend the exhibitions to introduce their capabilities.
Also, they can not be jointed with consortia and large foreign companies, while on the other hand, despite the high quality of the product or an Iranian piece, it is not possible to sell them and as a result that product can not meet the needs of different countries.
In short, knowledge bases face challenges and problems from several perspectives: 1) Sales 2) Introduction and identification 3) Cooperation agreements between large companies 4) Presence in global "R&D" (research and development).
A set of technologies such as artificial intelligence, electronic systems, and nanotechnology include not only one dimension of technology, but also streamers.
It is an important principle that countries that have a special place in certain areas such as technology, medicine, artificial intelligence, can also influence global trends. This comes from the knowledge-based companies that those countries have.
When those countries can mobilize their knowledge-based companies according to their goals, they also have the ability to streamline.
The United States, for example, is practically building a stream because of its advances in the discussion of electric vehicles. Tesla Motors is an American knowledge-based company, not just an electric car manufacturer!
Dozens of companies like Toyota and Volkswagen have made electric vehicles before, but why they can't sell that much is that Tesla Motors has gone from a mere manufacturer and technology provider to a policy maker. Transformation has become. Therefore, if a country can have policy-making power in various fields, it will have a great impact on the world.
So, Iranian knowledge-based companies have several challenges, both domestically and abroad. Accordingly, the government should first create a background of their capabilities in various fields, while identifying and being aware of their problems, both financial and communication problems with foreign groups.
More importantly, the government must develop ways for these companies to send their products and services to foreign countries and consumers, even under sanctions. This requires a series of specialized and comprehensive plans that are possible with the participation of the public and private sectors.
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