TEHRAN

Tehran is the capital city of Iran and the centre of the province of Tehr?n, located in north-central Iran at the foot of the Elburz mountain range.

It was established as the capital city by ?gh? Mo?ammad Kh?n more than 200 years ago. Since then, Tehran has grown from a small city to a major metropolis: With a population of around 8.7 million in the city and 15 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most populous city in Iran and Western Asia and has the third-largest metropolitan area in the Middle East.

Tehran has a cold semi-arid climate with continental climate characteristics and a Mediterranean climate precipitation pattern. Tehran's climate is largely defined by its geographic location, with the towering Alborz mountains to its north and the country's central desert to the south. Although the summer is very long, the city enjoys four distinct seasons

• Etymology: In Persian, the word Iran means “Land of the Aryans
• The majority of the population of Tehran are Persian-speaking people,and roughly 99% of the population understand and speak Persian, but there are large populations of other ethno-linguistic groups who live in Tehran and speak Persian as a second language.
• Head of State: Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
• Country motto: Independence, Freedom, the Islamic Republic.
• Currency: Iranian rial (IRR)
• Median age: 30.8 years
• Life expectancy: 74.2 years
• Religion: 99.5% islam
   

The political system of the Islamic Republic is based on the 1979 Constitution. According to international reports, Iran's human rights record is exceptionally poor. The regime in Iran is undemocratic. The Supreme Leader of the Revolution is responsible for delineation and supervision of the policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran.The Iranian president has limited power compared to the Supreme Leader Khamenei.

The metropolis of Tehran is divided into 22 municipal districts, each with its own administrative centre under the umbrella of the larger Tehr?n municipality.

Tehran is the economic centre of Iran. Despite numerous attempts to diversify the country’s economy, it is still dominated by the oil and gas industry, controlled from Tehran by the national government. With 10% of the world's proven oil reserves and 15% of its gas reserves, Iran is considered an energy superpower although Iran's economy has been hit hard since US sanctions were imposed in mid 2018. Half of its imports and exports have halted with an estimate of 600,000 barrels of oil being slashed and the national currency falling to a record low against the US dollar. After oil, Iran’s second largest export commodity is carpets.

About 30% of Iran's public-sector workforce and 45% of its large industrial firms are located in Teheran, and almost half of these workers are employed by the government. Most of the remainder of workers are factory workers, shopkeepers, laborers, and transport workers. Overall, services account for almost two-thirds of the workforce, with a smaller proportion employed in industrial activities and a negligible amount employed in agriculture. Retail, security and public service, and social services predominate in the service sector. Manufacturing industries include metal machinery and equipment, textiles, wood, chemicals, mining, paper, and basic metals

Street vending, windshield cleaning, and other forms of casual or informal employment are frequently concealed by official unemployment figures.

In Tehran men are the primary economic providers. Most women have traditionally not worked outside the home although an increasing proportion have begun to seek participation in the economy through paid employment outside the home.

Few foreign companies operate in Tehran, due to the government's complex international relations. Tehran's present-day modern industries include the manufacturing of automobiles, electronics and electrical equipment, weaponry, textiles, sugar, cement, and chemical products. It is also a leading centre for the sale of carpets and furniture. The oil refining companies of Pars Oil, Speedy, and Behran are based in Tehran.

The Tehran Stock Exchange, which is a full member of the World Federation of Exchanges has been one of the world's best performing stock exchanges in recent years.

Over 40 industries are directly involved in the Tehran Stock Exchange, one of the best performing exchanges in the world over the past decade.

Tehran has a wide range of shopping centers, and is home to over 60 modern shopping malls. The city has a number of commercial districts, including those located at Valiasr, Davudie, and Zaferanie. The largest old bazaars of Tehran are the Grand Bazaar and the Bazaar of Tajrish. Tehran's retail business is growing with several newly built malls and shopping centres.

The metropolis of Tehran is equipped with a large network of highways and interchanges. The city faces major congestion problems as, according to the head of Tehran Municipality's Environment and Sustainable Development Office, it was designed to have a capacity of about 300,000 cars, but currently more than five million cars are on the roads

Tehran's public transport system includes conventional buses, trolleybuses, and bus rapid transit. Tehran has also a central railway station that connects services round the clock to various cities in the country.

Tehran is served by the international airports of Mehrabad and Khomeini.
 

Iran has a strong tradition of engineering education. A long decade of war and then embargo pushed the country to develop its own engineering capabilities. Mostly for weaponry and energy, but the heritage is strong, and as a result, there are many Iranians top engineers in some of the world’s best startups. Iranians around the world are beginning to look back home, however, a lot of challenges are still on the road of entrepreneurial success in Iran. Most of the future of Iran as a startup scene depends on politics, but when it’s solved, then, a strong hub for the Middle-East, UAE and Central Asia might be open soon.

Currently Tehran hosts three accelerator programs: Avatech Accelerator, Dmond Accelerator and MAPS Accelerator. These three private accelerators are backed by at least another half dozen incubator spaces hosted by respective universities across the country. Sharif University is leading the way in keeping its bright graduates by hosting its own internal testing ground for new indigenous startups.

In terms of success stories, World Startup Report published a list of the three largest e-commerce and internet companies in 50 countries. The report suggested that  Iran’s leading online e-retailer, DigiKala, to be worth $500. Two other Iranian companies in the chart were Aparat.com, a Youtube clone, and CafeBazaar, a local version of Google’s Play Store worth $20 million respectively.