Under challenging economic conditions, extensive sanctions, instability, and serious limitations in accessing the internet. 

Iran’s startup ecosystem is facing challenges. Nevertheless, entrepreneurs, despite all the risks, are engaged in creating and developing startups, facing numerous challenges in the initial stages. However, it now seems that another factor has emerged as an additional challenge in the path of startup progress, and that is related to the process of obtaining licenses through the National Licensing Portal.

According to IDEA, the Vice President of the second Chamber of Commerce in Tehran emphasized that the current system of license application requests had no significant impact on facilitating and expediting the license issuance process. Continuing with the current method of obtaining business licenses might lead to serious problems for businesses.

According to statistics published by the National Licensing Portal, since the initiation of this program through approval by the parliament and its implementation by the government, only half of the received license application requests have been addressed.

In this regard, the CEO of the “Plak” fuel delivery application announced last week that the obstruction of this application’s activities and the three-month delay in the license issuance process through the National Licensing Portal have put the application at risk of complete dissolution.


Furthermore, a member of the National Association of Virtual Businesses’ Board of Directors, Reza Olfatnasab, stated: There are some businesses that have not yet been considered for a license. The plan was to establish a document box in one of the ministries so that individuals with innovative ideas, for which no specific license has been defined, can continue their activities under the supervision of relevant authorities for a few months under special conditions. This allows risks, strengths, and weaknesses to be identified, and ultimately decide whether a license should be defined for that business or not. Overall, these problems exist. However, it is expected that the executive apparatus can deal with such issues more agilely. Granting permission for the operation of such businesses through the establishment of a document box and the supervision of the relevant authority can be a good approach, as leaving innovative businesses alone with a defined license may lead to their failure. He added: The advice I have for businesses is that if they intend to operate in Iran, they should consider these matters before starting their activities. Currently, these problems exist, and the system is not agile enough to address these challenges.

In the month of Ordibehesht (April-May), the head of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce also criticized the disruptions in the National Licensing Portal, attributing this issue as the main factor behind the significant reduction in the number of business licenses issued in the country. Analysts and experts in the field believe that if the license issuance system for businesses, especially digital businesses that usually do not require specific licenses, does not become more efficient and faster, we might face the shutdown of innovative startups in the country.