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Iran needs drastic reforms to mitigate brain drain's impact on economy, tech sector

Deteriorating socioeconomic conditions and the absence of a functioning ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship are compelling many educated Iranians to migrate.

Employees work at headquarters housing Alibaba, Iran's largest online travel booking service, in the capital Tehran on February 17, 2020 - Iran's startup sector, which began to develop in the 2000s, took off from 2013. But new technology and the use of smart phones were hit hard by the reinstatement of US sanctions in 2018, after the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal. An unexpected effect of the sanctions has been that Iranian entrepreneurs have seized the opportunity to launch startups. (Ph
To:

Al-Monitor Pro Members

From:

Dr. Bijan Khajehpour

Managing Partner, Eurasian Nexus Partners, Vienna, Austria 

Date:

July 5, 2023

Bottom Line:

Deteriorating socioeconomic conditions and the absence of a functioning ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship are compelling many educated Iranians to migrate, depriving the domestic economy of the needed talent pool. Though on average Iran still has plenty of educated human resources, a continuation of the negative conditions will weaken the essence of the economy and shift the impetus of Iran’s educated elite to other countries, especially the United Arab Emirates. This trend will contribute to the shift of entrepreneurial and technological balance of power in the region to the detriment of Iran.