President of Iran’s NEO to the Government: Leave the Internet Alone

Over the past five years, Iran’s digital economy and innovative businesses have faced two unprecedented crises: first, the COVID-19 pandemic, which challenged traditional business models and accelerated digital transformation; and in the past few days, a war-like situation and widespread internet disruptions that have struck at the core of that very transformation.

In an in-depth conversation with Hossein Selahvarzi, President of Iran’s National Entrepreneurship Organization (NEO), Susan Nouri from Digiato examines the key lessons learned from these dual crises — from rethinking growth models to drafting survival strategies amid structural turmoil.

What similarities and differences do you see between the lived experiences of digital businesses during the COVID pandemic and the current wartime-like disruptions?

While the COVID crisis and the ongoing internet disruptions have each posed unique and severe challenges to Iranian digital businesses, a deeper analysis reveals both structural similarities and key differences.

To start with, both crises were marked by extreme uncertainty, severe financial stress, and an urgent need for businesses to be flexible and reinvent their models. In both situations, businesses experienced drops in revenue, liquidity problems, and even faced the threat of closure. Additionally, both crises exposed underlying weaknesses in infrastructure and legal frameworks, underlining the urgent need to strengthen digital business support systems.

That said, the two crises differ fundamentally in nature and impact. COVID, as a global health crisis, surprisingly became a catalyst for digital acceleration. With physical restrictions in place, people and traditional businesses were pushed toward online services—from education and shopping to telemedicine. This drove unprecedented demand for digital platforms and opened up growth and user acquisition opportunities for online businesses. The primary challenge at that time was scaling up to meet demand and optimizing operations.

In contrast, the internet disruptions are not a catalyst but a direct assault on the lifeblood of the digital economy. The internet has gone from being an enabler to a paralyzing barrier. Rather than progressing, businesses are being forced back to offline models or even shutting down altogether. These disruptions create no opportunities—only systematic erosion of trust, value creation, and vision. Online payments are blocked, communication channels severed, and access to customers is practically lost. This not only scares off investors but also pushes skilled talent toward emigration, gradually collapsing the ecosystem.

Another key difference lies in the businesses’ ability to adapt. During COVID, there was significant room for maneuver: innovations in logistics, app development, and new service offerings allowed businesses to manage the crisis and even grow. But with internet disruptions, adaptability drops to zero. There’s no digital workaround. Businesses are paralyzed unless they abandon their digital identity altogether.

In summary, while the COVID crisis—despite all its hardships—was a test of resilience that ultimately expanded Iran’s digital economy, internet disruptions are an existential threat. They halt growth and risk destroying what has been built over years with immense effort and investment.

What strategic lessons have been learned across HR, investment, market development, and infrastructure during these crises?

The two major and very different crises—COVID and repeated internet blackouts—have offered deeply strategic and distinct lessons for Iranian digital businesses. These experiences scrutinized key domains like human resources, investment, market expansion, and infrastructure, each posing unique challenges.

On the HR front, COVID highlighted the need for flexibility in work models, especially remote work, and the importance of supporting team mental health. It also made digital skill development an organizational imperative. However, internet disruptions brought an even deeper challenge: how do you retain talent in a volatile, uncertain, and unstable environment? Persistent instability leads to mental burnout, productivity drops, and ultimately, a brain drain.

The shared key takeaway is that in turbulent environments, maintaining morale and a sense of job security—despite infrastructural insecurity—and investing in hybrid skills (digital and offline) are more crucial than ever.

In terms of investment, COVID taught us how vital digital transformation and online infrastructure investments are—and it even created new opportunities for capital infusion. But internet disruptions reversed that narrative completely. Not only did they eliminate predictability and sever the operational lifelines of businesses, but they also endangered existing capital and made attracting new investment virtually impossible. With such high risk, the notion of ROI in digital ventures becomes meaningless. That’s why precise liquidity management, worst-case planning, and reduced dependency on foreign capital have become critical. Infrastructure reliability and predictability are the bedrock of investment retention and growth.

In market development, COVID accelerated the adoption of digital services, creating golden opportunities to enter new markets and expand online offerings. But the internet disruptions have blocked those paths. Frequent disconnections not only undermine access but also damage customer trust, forcing businesses to retreat to traditional models or halt operations altogether. The key here is diversifying communication and sales channels—developing hybrid models—and more importantly, maintaining customer trust through transparent communication, even during internet blackouts.

Finally, infrastructure—every digital business’s backbone—was shown during COVID to need robust internet, online payments, and logistics. But internet disruptions brutally exposed the internet as both the lifeline and the Achilles’ heel of our digital economy. Even slight instability can be paralyzing. Stability, speed, and access are not luxuries—they are prerequisites for growth. Without them, strategy and investment lose all meaning.

In essence, while COVID offered painful but growth-enabling lessons, internet disruptions serve as a bitter reminder of the ecosystem’s fragility and the necessity of preparing for the worst.

Given repeated events like COVID, war, and internet shutdowns (e.g., since November 2022), can we say that internet disruption has become a structural crisis that must be integrated into business resilience models? How should digital businesses prepare?

In Iran, internet shutdowns are no longer temporary crises. They’ve become a structural reality and a permanent risk in the digital business landscape. Unlike global crises with external roots, these shutdowns are often politically or control-driven and happen with alarming frequency and no clear warning.

For digital businesses, the internet isn’t just a tool—it’s oxygen. Its loss is paralyzing. Long-term planning collapses. So Iranian startups must redefine “resilience.” It’s no longer just about market competition or volatility—it’s about surviving when the primary infrastructure is cut off or severely impaired.

To face this challenge, digital businesses must adopt a multi-pronged strategy. First, diversifying access and sales channels is crucial. Relying solely on online platforms is extremely risky. Developing hybrid models (online-offline), enabling alternatives like phone or in-person sales for certain services, or even offline-capable apps (where possible) is vital.

Financial resilience is equally important. During disruptions, revenue dries up. So, having sufficient cash reserves to cover salaries and essential costs for several months becomes essential. This also means tight cost control and minimal dependence on short-term foreign capital.

Human capital is another critical dimension. Emotional fatigue and talent migration are among the worst effects. Creating a sense of security, transparent communication, and investing in transferable skills—usable in digital or non-digital environments—can sustain morale.

Customer communication and transparency are also vital. Honest, timely updates about service status and alternative options can maintain loyalty and trust.

Lastly, while technical options may be limited, preparing fallback solutions—such as evaluating the feasibility of domestic servers, low-bandwidth systems, or emergency access setups—can offer partial relief.

Ultimately, recognizing internet disruption as a systemic and persistent risk is the first and most crucial step toward intelligent planning and building genuine resilience.

What role should the government and policymakers play in supporting startup resilience during crises?

Mentioning the role of government in startup resilience in Iran often brings a bitter smile. In theory and development literature, the state is supposed to provide stable infrastructure (like uninterrupted high-speed internet), establish predictable laws, and offer genuine financial support—not red tape or burdensome requirements.

But in reality, the very internet that startups rely on is frequently disrupted by erratic policies and illogical decisions. This isn’t support—it’s a death blow to fragile, early-stage businesses. Instead of being a source of security, the government has become one of the biggest sources of fragility and brain drain.

So before talking about support and incentives, the government’s first and most important action should be to stop creating obstacles—in short, leave the internet alone.

Beyond that, it must allow healthy competition, minimize interference, stabilize regulations, and let businesses breathe. Financial aid must be real, accessible, and bureaucracy-free—not something you chase through endless red tape. And most importantly, government officials should actually listen—not just show up for photo ops.

The truth is, most Iranian startups have survived despite the government, not thanks to it. At this point, the best support the state can offer is to stop being a barrier. That’s it.

Should we revise our models of growth, development, and scalability for Iranian businesses?

We need to accept that the time has come to fundamentally rethink how we view “growth,” “development,” and “scalability” in the Iranian business context. The global models we’ve studied in universities and read in books—those built on unrestricted access to capital, stable markets, reliable infrastructure, and transparent regulations—not only fail to apply here, but can act like poison, leading a business straight to ruin.

We are not operating in a normal environment. Iran is like a ship in a stormy sea: extreme currency volatility, crippling sanctions, unpredictable internet restrictions, and sudden legal shifts that no one can foresee. Can we really navigate this storm using old maps? Certainly not.

When you can’t plan even a day ahead, when a shock can hit at any moment, linear and long-term growth models that rely on accurate forecasting lose all relevance. Here, adaptability and speed are a matter of survival.

Foreign investment? Practically zero. Domestic investment? Either facing astronomical risks or lost in bureaucracy and opacity. In such an environment, chasing explosive growth by burning cash to gain market share is financial suicide. In Iran, cash is like blood—and wasting it means bleeding to death.

Relentless censorship, repeated internet blackouts, and, most crucially, the unprecedented migration of talent and skilled labor shake the very foundations of modern business. When the base is unstable, how can you dream of building a skyscraper? Productivity declines, costs soar, and any growth model built on ease of access is doomed to fail.

Instead of blindly copying Silicon Valley, we must adopt a locally-rooted, resilient, and reality-based model. A model built on these principles:

• Survival before vanity growth: More important than speed is the ability to endure blows and survive in harsh conditions. Our business must be like a desert plant—slow-growing, but deeply rooted and unbreakable.
• Sustainable profitability from day one: The era of burning money for years in hopes of future profits is over. Every growth step must be economically justified. Businesses must stand on their own from the start and generate real value.
• Agility and frugality as a necessity: We must achieve maximum output with minimal resources. Our processes need to be so flexible that they can morph in the face of any sudden change. There is no room for waste or bureaucratic drag.
• Solving real, local problems: Given international constraints, it might be wiser to focus our energy on deeply understanding and solving unmet domestic needs. A small local problem can offer more sustainable opportunity than a distant global market.
• Diversifying revenue streams: Relying on one revenue source or market drastically increases risk. We must build diverse income models so that if one stream dries up, the others can keep the business alive.
• Always be ready for the worst: Crisis forecasting, emergency planning, and constant risk assessment shouldn’t be side projects—they must be part of our daily strategy. We should always ask ourselves: if everything collapses, how do we survive?
• Human capital as the core asset: In these tough conditions, creating a motivated, safe, and engaging workplace is more crucial than ever. Investing in training, building a strong company culture, and providing growth paths can not only boost productivity but also help curb brain drain.

To put it simply: we need a paradigm that is realistic, localized, and based on the principle of “survival first, sustainable growth second.” This isn’t a choice—it’s a necessity if we want to build a future that can take root and endure in the harsh soil of today’s reality.

How can we strengthen support structures and industry associations to prepare for future crises?

To successfully navigate future crises, we need stronger foundations for industry associations, chambers, and self-regulating organizations. This isn’t just about relying on past experience—it’s about aligning with the urgent pulse of today’s society. To achieve this, we can focus on several key pillars.

In a crisis, every minute counts. Industry associations and professional bodies need real power. First, legal frameworks must be rebuilt. We need clear definitions of their authority, how they can mobilize resources, and how they should coordinate with government agencies to ensure timely support. Most importantly, their independence and emergency autonomy must be legally protected.

However, none of this means anything without sustainable funding. Relying solely on membership fees isn’t enough. We need diversified sources: emergency funds, member contributions, private sector support, and even designated public funding when necessary.

Financialtransparency is our compass. When members and the public know how money is being spent, trust deepens—and so does engagement.

Alongside legal and financial readiness, human preparedness and capacity-building are critical. We must teach crisis resilience. Holding regular workshops on emergency management, psychological support, and effective communication under stress should be mandatory for both members and staff. Training alone isn’t enough—regular crisis simulations help expose weaknesses and refine protocols. We should also know who has what skills and how to tap into their expertise when a crisis hits.

Preparation means nothing in isolation. These associations must not operate as islands. They need partnerships—with other organizations, universities, the private sector, and even government entities. We must build joint think tanks to meet, plan, and brainstorm for the future. This is how knowledge and experience are exchanged for more effective disaster response.

In today’s world, we can’t be effective without technology. Investing in modern information and communication infrastructure is essential. Secure platforms for communication, data collection and analysis systems (for needs assessment, damage evaluation, and aid effectiveness), and real-time crisis communication tools are all vital. And of course, we must raise digital literacy so everyone can use these tools effectively.

Ultimately, all these efforts will only bear fruit if built on trust and transparency. Accountability builds trust. Associations must be fully transparent and accountable to their members and society. During crises, timely and accurate information is the antidote to misinformation. We need effective communication channels to deliver real news and guide public perception. The public must be able to trust us.

The truth is, if we take these steps seriously, industry associations will no longer just be names or bureaucratic bodies—they’ll become pillars of society, dependable during crises and essential to building a more resilient nation.

before talking about support and incentives, the government’s first and most important action should be to stop creating obstacles—in short, leave the internet alone.

What role can the National Entrepreneurship Organization play in cultivating a culture of resilience and helping startups make reality-based decisions in Iran’s high-risk environment?

In today’s high-risk Iranian business climate, the National Entrepreneurship Organization (NEO) plays a crucial role. It must institutionalize a culture of resilience and help entrepreneurs make decisions grounded in the realities they face.

How? Iranian entrepreneurs have already proven they can endure—and even grow—amid sanctions, economic turmoil, and domestic challenges. NEO can document and promote these success stories, enriching our local understanding of resilience.

Through specialized workshops, case studies, practical guides, and educational content, NEO can introduce entrepreneurs to tools such as agility, crisis management, adaptive innovation, and systems thinking. The goal is not just survival, but intelligent growth in conditions of deep uncertainty.

To improve decision-making, accurate data is essential. NEO can lead efforts in collecting, analyzing, and publishing data related to environmental risks—economic, political, technological, and social. This includes creating platforms for real-time market information, trend forecasting, and policy impact analysis on SMEs. Strategic reports and scenario planning will help entrepreneurs identify risks and respond effectively.

Another key strategy is to build strong networks. NEO can connect entrepreneurs with mentors, risk management experts, legal professionals, and economists. These networks can become hubs of mutual support and strategic thinking during crises. They can also help identify and challenge outdated or obstructive regulations that hinder progress.

Ultimately, by taking these steps, the National Entrepreneurship Organization can not only help entrepreneurs become more resilient but also elevate the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem, promoting a culture of informed, strategic, and adaptable decision-making in the face of Iran’s uniquely volatile business landscape.