VP urges coordinated support for SMEs to drive investment, exports
Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref stressed the need for coordinated action in government bodies to shore up small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), underscoring their key role in employment and export growth.
“The government is ready to help resolve SMEs’ issues by establishing a national working group on small and medium enterprises, given their vital role in employment and boosting exports,” Aref said at the first national SME ranking conference held in Tehran on Monday, according to his website fvpresident.ir.
The event, organized to introduce the country’s top 100 SMEs from industrial parks and zones, became a platform for Aref to outline the government’s commitment to addressing challenges facing the sector.
He described investment as a national challenge that becomes manageable when channeled through SMEs.
“In small and medium enterprises, investment turns into a solvable issue, and with a knowledge-based approach common globally, these enterprises can achieve stronger performance in production,” the top official added.
Aref emphasized the benefit of linking Iranian SMEs to global industrial supply chains. “Connecting Iranian SMEs to international industrial chains can drive technological development, facilitate technical knowledge transfer, and improve product quality — these collaborations can lay the groundwork for transformation,” he said.
He further called on the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade to prioritize key development indicators, including supply chain integration, investment in emerging technologies, upgrading mining and industrial infrastructure, strengthening human capital, expanding smart systems, and restructuring organizational frameworks.
“We must take the role of SMEs in decision-making and policy formulation more seriously,” Aref said, adding that the conference represented an innovative initiative in the “Year of Investment for Production” and should continue in the years ahead.