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A group of digital economy entrepreneurs has written a letter to the president, warning about the consequences of security agencies' interference in this sector. They have urged Masoud Pezeshkian to halt this trend and reconsider the prevailing security-focused approach in the innovation ecosystem to restore trust and hope for building Iran's future. The letter was written in response to conditions imposed on the founder of Divar for the company's entry into the stock market.
The authors of the letter referred to the wave of innovation that began in the early 2010s, stating: "In the early 2010s, a breeze of hope and activity swept through young Iranians. A wave of motivation for creation, building, and staying emerged, placing Iran on a path toward becoming a leading country in the digital economy within the region. However, by mid-decade, a deliberate effort aimed to disrupt and stifle this trajectory by securitizing the technology ecosystem."
They reviewed pressures exerted on the innovation ecosystem and wrote: "Through narratives and accusations, startups were portrayed as projects of 'change and infiltration,' resulting in various parts of the ecosystem coming under pressure: through smear campaigns, threats against domestic and foreign investors, raids on company offices, and interrogations of active players."
The authors added: "Certain security agencies have sent official letters barring government entities from cooperating with major startups in the country. This trend continued with actions such as sealing central offices of some companies, revoking licenses, arresting founders and managers, forcing them out of boards or shareholder positions, and preventing platforms from entering stock markets."
These digital economy entrepreneurs also highlighted an incident involving Divar’s exclusion from the stock market due to its co-founder’s disqualification: "Today we witness an unprecedented move where there is an explicit directive for the resignation and removal of one of Divar's founders—one of Iran's key platforms."
The letter warns that "the outcome of this trend is weakening one of Iran’s most dynamic innovation ecosystems."
It also clarifies that this letter is not meant to defend any specific company or industry but serves as a warning about a trend threatening Iran's future in innovation, technology, and economy.
The authors state: "We believe continuing down this path means intentionally stifling economic growth drivers while undermining innovation and investment in Iran’s technology sector."
They posed questions such as "What opportunities has labeling startups as 'change and infiltration' deprived our country of?" and "What message does this approach send to young generations? What image does it create for Iran's future?"
At the end of their letter addressed to Masoud Pezeshkian they wrote: "We earnestly request you, as head of the Supreme National Security Council, to halt this trend and reconsider the security-focused approach dominating our innovation ecosystem so that trust, hope, and youth participation can be restored for building Iran's future."
Signatories include Hamid Mohammadi and Saeed Mohammadi (co-founders of Digikala), Majid Hosseini-Nejad (co-founder of Alibaba), Nima Qazi (co-founder of Alibaba and president of E-Commerce Association), Mohammad Javad Shokouri-Moghaddam and Mohammad Mehdi Shokouri-Moghaddam (co-founders of SabaIdea, including Filimo and Aparat), Nazanin Daneshvar (co-founder of Takhfifan), Amirhossein Rad (co-founder of Nobitex), Hessam Mir-Armandehy (co-founder of Divar, CafeBazaar, Balad), and Pouya Pirhosseinlou (co-founder of AbrArvan).
