Iran’s startup ecosystem has always faced the problem of investors. Even during the formation of this ecosystem, that is, in the early nineties, which was accompanied by the presence of some global investment companies; There was an investor problem
According to the Iran digital economy annotation, Iran’s startup ecosystem has always faced the problem of lack of investors. Even at the time of the formation of this ecosystem, that is, in the early nineties, which was accompanied by the presence of some global investment companies, there was a problem of lack of investors.
The shadow of this challenge has become more prominent than ever in recent years, and the government has stepped in to solve this crisis. A subject that is not very true according to experts. By granting large loans and injecting them into the ecosystem, these institutions have intended to fill the void of investors; But this issue has not been able to help this situation. Meanwhile, there are a few private actors who have focused their attention on this ecosystem.
Sarava and Snapp Group (Irancell) were the most important players and now it seems that another big traditional player, namely Golrang Group, plans to enter this field more seriously than ever.
Golrang Group is supposed to be the newest investor along with groups such as Sarava, Snapp Group, Mammoth, Harekate aval, Pasargad Financial Group, Firouzeh, etc. The efforts of this group to be present in the startup ecosystem of the country do not go back to the present, but as it was said, the decision of this company to be present in this area has become bold recently.
This group is one of the largest private sector companies in the country and has more than 50,000 employees. Dozens of famous brands operate under Golrang and if the general public knows this group with its detergent products, it is because of the strategy of this group until today; A strategy that seems to be about to be revised.
Golrang superapp
Golrang Group plans to launch a superapp and has taken the first serious step to launch this superapp by buying 100% of Alopeyk’s shares.
In the past years, Alopeyk had a strategy to become a superapp, but it was never able to realize it, and now, perhaps, with the arrival of investment like Golrang, this long-standing dream will become a reality.
There are some speculations about buying a few other famous startups in different fields, the truth of which has not yet been determined, but considering that Golrang’s product portfolio is currently filled with several collections, it is likely that startups in the health and video game fields have been prioritized in this group. The shadow of this speculation is therefore getting a more specific form that the Golrang group has given a call for the best ideas in the field of video games during the past weeks.
Kourosh Industrial Group, Oh, Softlan, Ave, Familia, Active, Biodent, Barley, Nancy, Home Plus, Mercy, Merident, Action, Santin and Kimball are just a few brands of Golrang sub-categories. The entry of Golrang Industrial Group into the startup ecosystem can create a new competition and on the other hand, maybe attract the attention of some other large traditional companies of the country to the startup ecosystem.
The fact is that Gulrang Group has not been able to make an important statement in this ecosystem with its products and has not become the first player in any area. The fact that “Ofood” can beat a big competitor like Snappfood is one of the topics that seems a bit ambitious; But perhaps focusing on competitive advantages can move the only main player in this field, i.e. Snappfood, from the first platform to another place.
Golrang University
In the official website of Golrang Innovation Center or Golrang Ventures (which was launched in August of last year), it is announced that this group intends to invest in the fields of energy, artificial intelligence, e-commerce, financial technologies, smart transportation, medicine, agricultural and cosmetic technologies and It is hygienic. This shows that Golrang’s focus in the field of technology is much wider.
Golrang Group expanded its activities in the field of various technological businesses years ago. For example, this group launched a scientific-applied training center in 2007. Golrang University currently has a place called Golrang Startup Factory where different teams are working. As stated on the website of this university, this center has a mission to play a role as an entrepreneurial university in the fields of startup and knowledge-based.
Investing in the startup ecosystem
It was in 2015 and at the Iran Silicon meeting that the vice president of Golrang Group’s planning announced that this company has so far invested 300 billion tomans in the field of venture capital, and of course he emphasized that this group takes 80% of its venture capital shares for itself.
Considering the purchase of 100% of Alopeyk’s shares, it seems that this policy continues in this company. Golrang Ventures Group has also been launched since August last year and according to the news that is published around it, it seems that it intends to have a serious entry in various fields of technology.
Golrang Group had the experience of investing in the startup ecosystem with 100 startups and it seems that by observing this market and changing a series of policies in this group, Golrang Industrial Group has decided to play a big role in the technological ecosystem of the country. This path is not for today and so far various startups from this collection have entered the market.
Golrang’s experiences in the startup ecosystem
In recent years, Golrang launched Okala startup, which was firstly an online store of high-consumption products, and gradually became the connection of Ofoq Kourosh stores all over the country to users. At the beginning of 1401, Okala changed its name to Omarket and expanded its activity; So that now, like Digikaljet or SnappExpress, different supermarkets cooperate with this collection.
Ofoq Kourosh stores also appeared in the SnapExpress application through a cooperation agreement, and this showed that Omarket does not intend to do its activity exclusively. Okala is currently the second player in the field of online sales of supermarket products. But the important thing about it is that the presence and activity of this startup is in cities where its main competitor is not present in many of them.
Golrang also entered the field of fintech and providing landtech services with Tara application. The Tara application has contracts with stores related to this industrial group and other online and physical stores in the country and has been able to continue working as an active player in this field – but it is not the main player in this field.
In the past year, Golrang also launched the Dartil online store, which has a structure similar to Digikala. There are different sellers in Dartil, there is a variety of products and it sells everything from supermarket products to electronic goods. Dartil has had a transformational redesign in recent months and is currently advancing without extensive advertising and using tricks such as promotion marketing and giving discount codes, etc., and has not yet been able to become a brand in the world of e-commerce. The recent cooperation of this group with Alopeyk Group on Black Friday is the first big campaign of this online store and it remains to be seen how the future of this online store will be.
Ozone card is one of the subcategories of Golrang Industrial Group, which, having thousands of shopping points all over the country, tries to act as a Payment Facilitator in the world standard. . Their goal is to be able to consolidate all financial potentials such as credit, financial facilities, balance of different wallets, various bank cards, discount codes and coupons at the moment of purchase from different acceptors for users and can be easily spent. They recently partnered with Azkivam Group and are planning to expand their services.
It goes without saying that Golrang has launched the “Professor Mohammad Karim Fazli” startup award (the founder of this series) for three years and claims that this award is the biggest startup award in the country. A claim that cannot be considered very true, but with this work, Golrang seeks to penetrate the startup ecosystem of the country.
The future of Golrang
Some experts believe that Iran is the most suitable market for SuperApp, because investing in apps is unknown in Iran; Traditional investors prefer to have an all-in-one supercap. The fact is that in our country, the digital economy has not been formed in its true meaning and the presence of super-apps will help in the formation and growth of this economic space. Golrang Industrial Group has taken a step in this direction and it should be seen whether this company can contribute to Iran’s digital economy along with large groups such as Sarava, Snap Group, Mammoth, etc.
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