Tehran Hub for Social Innovation

1. 1

2. 3/ Executive Summary
5/ Tehran City Facts & Figures
4/ Why Iran? Why Tehran? Why Tehran Hub?
7/ Iran and Tehran’s entrepreneurship ecosystem
8/ Iran’s Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem
10/ Aims
11/ Tehran Hub’s Focus Areas
12/ Platform for Purpose
13/ Competitive Landscape
15/ Ecosystem Builder & Instigator
16/ Tehran Hub Team
18/ Tehran Hub Governance
19/ Board of Advisors
20/ Journey so Far …
21/ Community building, Tehran Hubs short term focus
23/ Tehran Hub’s Activities and Services
27/ Community Clusters
29/ Strategic Partners
30/ Location
31/ The Space
Content
2

3. Considering Tehran’s significance as one of the most industrial and globally connected cities of the
country, its diverse community of young entrepreneurs can be agents of innovation and prosperity.
Possessing a great pool of untapped talent of high potential, Tehran’s youth are increasingly
exploring solutions to their modern-day problems, including addressing the same challenges other
youth face living in other metropolises around the world. They wish to be recognized and
appreciated for their activities, and are willing to help foster positive change; change that will help
increase their own quality of life.
In Tehran Hub, we aim to build the necessary entrepreneurial platform to engage Iranian youth and
their peers from the international social change community, and enable them to tackle their own
pressing challenges.
Tehran HUB is not limited to Tehran though. We believe this platform will accelerate entrepreneurship
and innovation in other cities around the country as well. Tehran Hub will be the first enabler for
purpose driven social, cultural and creative entrepreneurs committed to social, economic and
environmental change. Our entrepreneurial platform aims to roll out a diverse program to host and
train Iranian youth & entrepreneurs to tackle social, health and environmental challenges, using
ingenious technology and business models through a co-working space, events and accelerator.
Tehran is Iran’s capital and one of the biggest cities in West Asia. Tehran hosts different people from a diverse ethnic and cultural
backgrounds. This diversity is a rich source for cultural developments. Tehran is facing a rapid onslaught of challenges across health, the
environment and social development. Urban population is going to grow from 7.7 to 12.5 million people. Tehran’s high population density has strained
the abilities of both the central government and the municipality to supply a number of services. Despite improvement in the quality of housing
facilities as well as the rapid development activity undertaken by public- and private-sector agencies, the provision of housing for Tehran’s
expanding population has been a major challenge. Its unemployment rate has doubled since 1990 withjobs for less than a third of youth coming
into the labour market and particularly high unemployment for young women at %40.
Executive Summary
The “Why” of Tehran HUB
3

4. The “How” of Tehran HUB
In Tehran Hub we have gathered a unique team of highly experienced and
knowledgeable individuals to help us meet our goals. Our team include social
entrepreneurs, business executives and managers, community mobilizers and social
change champions, etc.
Most of them are among the best in their own fields of expertise. These fields include but
are not limited to finance or marketing management, operational planning, community
building and community animation, civic change, technology management and
entrepreneurship. Alongside our core team, we have a broad range of key strategic
partners and advisors such as SAMSUNG and Amirkabir University.
The “Where” of Tehran HUB
Housed in 800 sq/mt of renovated space, and situated in of the most historic quarters of
Tehran, Tehran Hub will be a fresh, inspiring home for enthusiastic social entrepreneurs.
We are already hosting 3 teams in Tehran Hub and we believe the unique location and
atmosphere will facilitate collaboration between visionary policy makers and social
innovators, tech wizards, impact communities and activists.
4

5. Tehran City Facts & Figures
Tehran is a dynamic city. It is the most populated
and most ethnically diverse city of Iran. There is
more investment and development in Tehran than
anywhere else in Iran.
Population
With a population of
around 7.9 million,
Tehran is by far the
country’s most populated
city. It population is
almost 3 times as much
of Iran’s next largest
city, Mashhad. By 2030
the population of Tehran
would increase up to 9.0
million and above, more
than one-in-ten of the
country’s urban
residents
Quality of life
Tehran’s residents enjoy the highest
standard of living in the country. This is
due to better physical infrastructure and
more modern urban landscape than other
cities.
Social Entrepreneurs in Iran & Tehran
Recent studies on social entrepreneurship in Iran indicate that the
majority-more than -%73 of social entrepreneurship initiatives
take place in Tehran. After Tehran, Shiraz with %11, Isfahan with
%9, Mashhad with %2 and Tabriz with %5 are the next runners.
This study was carried out in 2015 by the GMU University and 150
individuals%83- of which were men and %17 women, and %86 of
whom had university degrees-participated in it.
Gateway to other cities
As of many other major cities,
most activities initiate in Tehran
and then expand to other cities of
the country. We believe that this
would also be the case for the
entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Iran’s leading
Business Hub
Tehran has the
largest
concentration of
businesses in the
country and is
stepping up as a
world class
innovative city in the
region.
5

6. Why Iran? Why Tehran?
Why Tehran Hub?
Iran’s society faces critical, social, economic, environmental and cultural challenges. Most striking among the challenges is the growing rate of
unemployment and rising demand for inclusive, equitable and sustainablejobs in this vast and diverse country that is, inter alia, characterized by
its expanding educated youth.
This trend will unavoidably compound the continued pressures on natural resources, health care,
labor markets, infrastructure and other public goods in the country. Although the Iranian government
and the international community have been supportive of the country’s charitable sector to address
the country’s challenges, these organizations have been fairly ineffective due to lack of
organizational, leadership, financial and programmatic capacity. The government will continue to
face a herculean challenge to ensure quality social and economic services for all citizens, while at
the same time the sustainability of the private sector has been threatened by continued economic
challenges and mismanagement.
Up until now social entrepreneurs in Iran have had no systematic support infrastructure to launch
their innovative solutions or ideas to tackle the country’s social, economic, and environmental
problems. There are a growing number of Iranian entrepreneurs who want to deliver positive impact
to their society, promote human dignity and greater social equity.
A few innovative solutions have already been developed in Iran to address social challenges,
however their impact and scaling has been limited. Social enterprises also face capacity, resource
and network challenges and without addressing such challenges systematically any initiative will be
futile.
This is why a robust and exclusive engagement platform is needed to support these entrepreneurs..
At Tehran Hub, we believe that by engaging and supporting these social entrepreneurs we
contribute significantly to achieving responsible economic growth in the region, as well as
addressing deeply entrenched social and environmental problems. This is where Tehran Hub steps in.
6

7. With a growth rate of %12 in 2014 alone, Iran has the fastest growing entrepreneurial ecosystem in the world (Global Entrepreneurship, 2014). The jobless rate is soaring,
and therefore, job creation has become one of the cornerstones of President Rouhani government and explicitly mentioned tthe sixth development plan of Iran.
Based on the GEM report published in 2014 some key findings related to the social entrepreneurial arena include:
Social values entrepreneurship
● Iran has been ranked 7th among the resource-based economies.
● Iran has been ranked 13th for its social status of entrepreneurs in its economy.
Personal characteristics of entrepreneurship
● Iran has been ranked 20th in understanding entrepreneurial capabilities.
● Iran has been ranked 26th in the “fear of failure” index.
● Iran has been ranked 21th in the “entrepreneurial intention” index.
Indicators of entrepreneurship
● Iran has been ranked 28th in the “emerging entrepreneurship” index.
Innovation
● Iran has a different pattern from average Asian countries to new market.
● Iran has been ranked 25th in access to physical infrastructures for business. This indicator clearly depicts Iran’s entrepreneurial ecosystems situation in comparison
with other countries.
Furthermore, one can sense that the ecosystems is evolving due to the recent surge in the number of startups popping up in Iran, particularly in the tech-sector. Most
Iranian tech startups are quite new and have been around for less then 3 years. But keep in mind that Iran’s startup ecosystem is also yet in its infancy.
Despite all the positive developments, lots of creativity goes to waste as social innovators find deeper collaboration with like-minded individuals almost impossible.
Tehran requires a world-class inspiring work space that would help such collaborations to happen.
Iran and Tehran’s
entrepreneurship ecosystem
7

8. Iranian social entrepreneurs are tapping into new models of development through social entrepreneurship. They are striving to create real social impact and help the wealth
creation and improve their local communities. Iran’s estimated social entrepreneurship market-which are individuals that are one way or the other related to the social
sector-consists of 50,000 to 75,000 active participants. Also an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 of these social entrepreneurs are actively engaged in an initiative, organization,
or startup with a social, economic or environmental objective.
The highlights of a recent study on Iran’s social entrepreneurship carried out by GMU University in 2015 indicate:
ISocial entrepreneurs in Iran primarily associated social innovator with ‘pioneers’ or ‘problem solvers’, whereas they associate ‘innovation’ primarily with use of technology or
changing people's attitude and consumption patterns.
More importantly, relevance of using social entrepreneurship to solve social, economic and environmental problems is given to the fields of Health Care, Education, Combat
against economic exclusion of vulnerable groups and solutions to environmental problems.
Iran’s Social Innovation
and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem
Social Innovator Innovation
Pioneer
Problem
Solver
Activist
%54
%31
%15
%32
%31
%18
%19
Changing people's attitude and
perception about what they consume
Use of technology to deliver goods/
services to clients
Offering a novel product/service
Offering product/service to satisfy
unmet needs
8

9. In Iran, social innovation and social entrepreneurship are still relatively new concepts of putting into practice for the public good: is the use of an innovative approach for
dealing with complex social problems. Social and civic innovation come from individuals, groups or organizations, and can take place in the for-profit, nonprofit and public
sectors.
As part of our initiative, we have started to build from the bottom up, a social and civic community that is driving forward social entrepreneurship, social investment, civic
innovation and systemic approaches to social, economic and environmental problems.
Socent is most relevant to address:
Solutions to environmental problems %50
%46
%37
%37
%31
%45
%57
%37
Local/Regional economic development
Housing
Preserving historical heritage
Health and Health Care
Learning and Education
Citizen Engagement and Participation in
addressing local community problems
Combat against social exlusion of economically
vulnerable groups
9

10. To build and lead a thriving ecosystem of social
innovation that contributes to the prosperity and
advancement of Iran and beyond.
• enabling young entrepreneurial minds to
tackle social challenges with viable business
models and creative use of technology
• activating investors to help scale impact
• inspiring policy-makers to support the social
innovation ecosystem
• convening and engaging communities to
contribute to the design of ventures
• raise awareness in the public about social
innovation
Aims
There are lots of things that Tehran Hub could
do, lots of ideas that will be brought to us, and
lots of doors that will open before us. It would be
easy to get distracted, but that will lead to flimsy
and hazy results and a waste of
resources. Instead, we are committing to focus
all our energy on fewer things that we will do at
the highest quality possible.
Our mantra is: do less and do better.
Tehran Hub Vision:
Tehran Hub Mission:
• Build a online school for social innovation and
social entrepreneurship, and create content
and narratives for social change
• Build a co-working space for social innovators,
creates, freelancers, tech wizards,
entrepreneurs, experts and many other to meet,
connect, share knowledge and engage in
socially innovative projects
•Roll out a social good events program
targeting public audience about social
innovation and social entrepreneurship
• Roll out a pre-accelerator and accelerator
program addressing the knowledge, resources,
capability gap of future social entrepreneurs
and innovators
• Raise funds and develop revenue streams to
make our operations financially sustainable in
the long-term
• Continuously monitor progress and keep
learning and improving
Tehran Hub Strategies:
• Invigorating a nascent social innovation
community
• Understanding challenges in health, the
environment and society
• Building collaborative teams from the social
and technology spaces to tackle challenges
• Nurturing social entrepreneurs to develop
viable business solutions
• Stimulating policy-makers and investors about
social innovation
Similar to other centers for social innovation,
Tehran Hub will also focus on membership fees
and event-based revenue. Tehran Hb will
develop impact programs, and facilitate
collaborations with and among other institutions,
companies and the local government to
generate revenue.
In the first year of Tehran Hub, our
aims are:
CORE STARTUP BUSINESS MODEL
10

11. Healthcare could utilize technology
solutions to provide innovative answers
to health-related problems with a
decreased cost. It offers new possibilities
for preventative healthcare and early
intervention via testing, screening and
offering advice and opportunities for
behavior change. It can improve the
healthcare organizations, helping to
make better use of the resources
already available and it can give
access to healthcare to people who
would otherwise not have been able to
make use of it.
We’re looking for ventures that:
● Improve health outcomes
● Improve access to healthcare
● Decrease health inequality
● Reduced cost of healthcare
What we need to learn and the way we
learn it are both going to change
radically in the coming decades. The
current system of centrally controlled
curricula, schools and classrooms makes
little sense in an era of widespread
digital technologies. We’re looking for
opportunities to back ventures that help
reorganize the system in a way that
improves outcomes, decreases costs
and reduces inequality.
We’re looking for ventures that:
● Increase access to education and
learning
● Improve educational outcomes
(achievement and attainment)
● Reduce inequality in access to and
the outcomes of education
● Reduce the cost of education and
learning
We believe there are opportunities for
technology to help build new models of
democracy that go beyond
representation and create new ways for
people to hold institutions to account
and set their priorities. We think it’s an
area that is vital to the healthy
functioning of any society and one that
we don’t see other institutions capable
of investing in without preconceptions or
a vested interest in a particular (party)
political outcome.
We’re looking for ventures that:
● Increase democratic participation
● Improve interaction between
government and citizens
● Create greater transparency and
accountability for institutions
● Build stronger relationships within and
between
Water management and climate
change
We think the way we power society,
particularly in the transportation and
housing sector will change almost
entirely over the coming decades.
Transparency will transform supply
chains. Driven by consumer demand,
energy distribution will change. National
grids make no sense in a low-carbon
world and the ways we deal with waste
will be completely different from today.
We will also need to find ways to adapt
to climate change and help to make
communities more resilient to extreme
weather.
We’re looking for ventures that:
● Reduce emissions of greenhouse
gases
● Improve resource efficiency
● Reduce waste
● Improve resilience to climate change
Tehran Hub’s Focus Areas
Health Education Social Challenges communities
11

12. Platform for Purpose
● Openness
● Creativity
● Collaboration
● Sustainability
Be humble and embrace diversity.
Unleash creativity by engaging in a humble posture of learning and welcoming
diversity as a competitive advantage.
Be sensibly passionate.
Press on relentlessly to bring about positive and lasting impact, while being
smart and pragmatic about resources and viability.
Play and learn.
Enjoy creative experimentation, test your ideas simply and quickly in the real
world, and adjust when needed. Consider play as the highest form of learning.
True to True North
Staying committed to the end goals while being flexible in navigating new
territories of action. Be focused and relentless.
Collaborate and co-design.
No solution should be designed in isolation of the needs, aspirations, and
contexts of those it serves. Rather, we operationalize empathy by way of
collaboration.
Design holistically and plan for scale.
Processes and solutions have to be robust and designed with regard to their
long-term impact on the organization, ecosystem, and society.
Be authentic and walk the extra mile.
Mean what you say and do what you say and push beyond the bare minimum.
Be open and share.
Information, knowledge and resources are more valuable when everyone has
access.
Tehran Hub is not only about sharing a physical space, but also about
establishing a community of likeminded people who share the following
core values and enjoy creating synergies.
CORE VALUES
12

13. Competitive Landscape
In the past two years a number of business incubators and accelerators, start-up events, and VC firms have been established. We have listed them here below:
Spaces
Tehran
Hub
Karavan Shenasa VC
Sarava
Investment
Fund
Mellat VC
PSG
Investment
Fund
Iratel
Investment
Co
Ayandeh
Development Co
Sharif University
of Technology
Amir Kabir
University
Asre Ertebat
Kasbokar
Tafahom
Buyex
Sheipour
Iran Startup Ecosystem Map
Zarinpal
Avatech
Dimond
Parash
Esfehan
Sharif
Bardia
TAC
Dr Tabesh
Fanap (Trigup)
National Innovation Fund
Omid Entrepreneurship Fund
Science Development Foundation
High Tech Companies Law
FanBazar Initiative
Idea Bourse ( Idea Exchange Market)
Simorgh
Investment
Fund
Kardan
Investment Co
University
of Tehran
Peyvast
Pomegranate
Investment
Maps Innovation Accelerator Center to
Support 4 accelerator organizations in Iran
Funding Financial Institutions Education & Training Exits Accelerators/Inc GovernmentalMedia/Pro motion
13

14. Avatech takes a %15 stake with no
payout to owners/ founders.
It has been criticized for quality of team
and pricing model (1$m+ per venture)
Round 150 :1 applicants, 11 teams
selected, graduating in April 4 ,2015 with
potential
Round 300 :2 applicants, 13 teams
selected, May 2015
Avatech
Established 5-4 years ago
Founder has a strong technology
background from the U.S (various
patented inventions)
Hosts 4-3 teams/ year
Selected ventures are unique and
deemed for international markets
Seen as very local and not scalable
MAPS
Offers accelerator and start-up camp
programs, co-working space,
consultancy, seed funding
Usually takes about a %15 stake in the
selected teams
Very similar model to Avatech
Round 180 :1 applicants, 9 teams
Navak is their Success Story
Affiliation with Silicon Valley VC
DMond
Mainly an incubator
Not seen as being very successful
Purely a governmental venture
associated with Sharif University of
Science & Technology
Focus on internet and ICT
Sharif
There are a number of new firms
under establishment including:
Fanap (Pasargad Bank)
Ezam accelerator
Paresh accelerator
Bardia accelerator
Rahnama
Gaze Seke (Isfahan)
Other Key players
Co-working Space and Accelerators
14

15. At Tehran Hub we are investing in state of the art
infrastructure as we believe this is key to a high
quality co-working experience. Small/Medium
enterprises, entrepreneurs, freelancers, creatives,
community organizations and corporations often
cannot access the high spec tools and resources
needed to allow them to thrive. Flexible access is
key to our success and our member packages,
hosts and online presence will facilitate this all.
Flexibility and feature, all in one
As our community grows our role as
ecosystem-builder and a collaboration-platform
provider will become more prominent. We aim to
offer greater value and connectivity to our
members. Co-creation has been a huge part of
our approach and unique service experience will
remain central to events, programs and content
that emerges from the Hub. Our role is to pioneer
and catalyze innovations, engagement and
impact by, with and for our members.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
& CONNECTIONS
Impact and Innovation drive through
collaboration, networking and also through
membership diversity. Tehran Hub is and never will
be a mere space provider. We believe the true
value of Tehran Hub is beyond its base role as a
space manager. We are exploring options of how
to monetize the value we provide beyond the
rental income. Outcome financing,
crowd-funding impact and problem focused
partnerships are some of the routes we are
considering.
Tehran needs a world-class and globally
connected co-working space for high impact
social entrepreneurs. Our strategic partnerships
with Tehran City Council, Samsung , Amirkabir
University and other partners means we are well
positioned to play this role. The ongoing network
building and partnership attracting activities have
helped Tehran Hub identify and make the key
needs, partnerships and deliverables a
world-class location would provide.
A BUSINESS MODEL BEYOND SPACE
BUILDING A WORLD CLASS LOCATION
Tehran Hub strives to be an instigator and a true socially-impactful ecosystem builder. Current Iranian co-working spaces,
Accelerators and program/event organizers have assumed an all-encompassing role, hence, the value and offerings they
provide are limited. On the contrary, Tehran Hub is committed the niche market of social entrepreneurs. There is a huge
untapped potential of people and markets in the private, public and third sector of the economy who are willing to be good
by doing good and by being a part of the ecosystem. TH’s target is to mobilize them for the good.
Ecosystem Builder
and Instigator
CO-WORKING, COLLABORATION
and SYSTEM - CHANGE
The concept of ‘Co-working spaces’ is developing
in Tehran and people are evolving from
coffee-shop goers, to co-worker and collaborator.
The virtues of collaboration and system change
needs to be highlighted for individuals and
organizations and TH has been actively trying to
spread the word. This has led to partnerships,
memberships and investments from different
individuals and sources. TH’s teams experience as
community builders and conversation shapers
means that TH is crystalizing its place as an
instigator and change creator. This has helped
increase TB’s influence and interconnectedness
inside Tehran and beyond, generating strategic
partnerships and positioning Tehran Hub as the
community enabler for social innovation and
entrepreneurship.
15

16. Alireza Omidvar
Alireza holds an MBA in CSR
from Nottingham University,
MPA and Political Science
from University of Tehran. He
is co founder of three non
profit associations;
Corporate Governance and
Responsibility Development
Center , Iran
Entrepreneurship Association
, and Mehri Nick Foundation.
Nazanin Shaghaghi Azadeh Tajdar
Azadeh has been working
with startups and social
entrepreneurs from around
the world for more than a
decade. She is co-founding
member of “Shetab”, a
center for business and
social innovation in
Afghanistan.
Nazanin holds an MBA and a
minor in Entrepreneurship.
She has spent two years
working alongside young
motivated startups in Iran's
first private business
incubator, Maps and has
designed several basic
marketing courses for this
business entity.
Nazanin is driven immensely
by the prospect of global
social change and
betterment, and is willing to
begin this task by supporting
and helping the growth of
Iran's social consciousness
Mehri Sharif
Mehri
has studied software
engineering and web
graphic. She is now active in
providing content With a
background in software
engineering and web
design, I’ve entered the
journey of Tehran Hub to
fulfill my interest in
entrepreneurship, journalism,
business, networking and
computer programming.
Through taking part in The
Hub’s main tool to provide
educational content for the
members and to raise public
awareness.
Tehran Hub Team
16

17. Amir hossein
Khedmatgozar
Amir is studying Industrial
Management. He’s
currently, in charge of
Tehran Hub’s events
execution and is very
passionate about social
entrepreneurship. Putting all
his effort to enable its
community.
Mohammad
Mesbahi
Mohammad is a master
graduates in Technology
Management from
Staffordshire University. He
has two years of working
experiences in business &
technology consulting with
startups.
17
Iman
Davoudian
Iman holds a Master's
degree in Software
Engineering. He is a
community builder, and he
enjoys connecting people ,
He is currently project
manager of Startup
Weekend in Iran, working
closely with Techstars, He
managed and helped more
than 100 volunteers &
organizers to organize
Startup Weekend and build
a startup community in their
cities.
has a master's degree in
Design Management from
Salford University. She has
working experience with
humanitarian organizations
such as NRC and Japan
ODA. She also co-founded a
trade company in 2010 to
satisfy her entrepreneurial
spirit and learn about
challenges ahead.
Taraneh Misaghian
Tehran Hub Team

18. Tehran Hub Governance
Strategic Unit
Taraneh
- Events
- Community Plan
Azadeh
AliReza
Partnerships
International Partners
Exchange
Fundraising
AliReza
Local Partners
Individual Alliances
Support Unit
Taraneh
Azadeh / Alireza
Thought Leadership
Research
SIS
Social Innovation
Online School
SIM
Social Innovation
Magazine
Alliance Building
Mehri
copy writing
online content
Admin
Financial
Legal
HR
Tech / IT
General Manager
medium level
Accelerator Program
Mentorship Management
Business Units
Coaching
Training
Investors
Nazanin
- Gerneralist
- Co-working Manager
Co-Working
Membership
Networking
Community Sourcing
Events
Community Enabling
Event
Membership Services Community Sourcing
Amir Hossein
Assistant
(Part-Time)
Admissions
Management
Imam
future
Azadeh
Arash
future
AliReza + ?
interim
Communications
Branding
Digital Channels
Contact Dev
Senior PR
1 day a week
Communications
Lead
medium level
Azadeh
Strategy Head
To be decided
Co-Working / Events
To be decided
Accelerator Lead
To be decided
Admin Head
General Manager
To be decided
MANAGING BOARD
Mohammad
Sohrab
research
Tehran Hub was founded by a small team of social entrepreneurs who wanted to create a home for 'pragmatic idealists' to create and drive positive social change.
To action our strategic priorities, we are building units and teams that are focused on areas of operation, but collaborate with other units to ensure overall success.
Tehran Hub’s strategy and day-to-day operation is set and administered by its Management Board.
18

19. Board of Advisors
Details
Our team is a group of visionary leaders who are entrepreneurs and thinkers and who are well connected and successful in their own fields. They are supporting through
guidance and advice in the initial phase of Tehran Hub. Our ultimate goal would be to build a world class advisory board in the future. Currently the advisory board,
collaborates with Tehran Hub on key challenges on their field of expertise and guide it through a sustained growth.
19
ALILaj
evardi Leila Piran
Leila Ph.D. in World Politics
focusing on the Middle
East, particularly writing
on Iran and Turkey. In
2013,she published her
book titled, Institutional
Change in Turkey: The
Impact of EU Reforms on
Human Rights. She is
currently policy research
fellow at GMU.
Iraj Hashi
Iraj Hashi is Professor of
Economics and Director
of the Centre for
Research on Emerging
Economies (CREE) at
Staffordshire University
Business School, Stoke on
Trent, United Kingdom. He
awarded an MBE for his
role in helping to rebuild
war-torn Kosovo
Parissa Behnia
Fatemeh is a Business
women and social
entrepreneur. She is the
founder of Sepehr Asia
Co and Mehrafarin
Charity Foundation. She is
Member of Tehran City
Council.
Parissa is 678 Partners’
Idea Chef. Balancing her
playful imagination with a
surgical, strategic
mindset, she enjoys
helping clients and inspire
the future of business by
advising startups. In the
buffet of 678 Partners’
services, she serves up the
“capital-M marketing”
with a taste and eye for
the bigger picture.
Parissa holds a BA from
Northwestern University
and MBA from New York
University’s Stern School of
Business"
Daniel Program Manager
at the Thomson Reuters
Foundation. He has
worked with social
entrepreneurs to scale
their impact, co-authored
a social business plan for
start-up social ventures
and most significantly,
used his professional
networks to strengthen
the global social
enterprise market.
Ali Lajevardi
Ali is fourth generation of
the Lajevardi family who
were founders and
managers of the
Behshahr Industrial Group.
Post break-up of Eastern
Europe he joined his
brother in establishing
and managing the
private equity fund, the
Baltic Fund. He was a
Board member of the
Science and Arts
Foundation in the UK and
Iran.
Daniel RostrupFatemeh Daneshvar

20. Journey so Far …
September 2015
The first Hamdel Event was held. Hamdel means empathy and
understanding and its aim is to identify and solve social challenges
through social innovation. Hamdel is a social event with weekly
social gatherings that focus on addressing one specific challenge
at a time. Hamdel successfully launched the first social gathering
in Tehran, with a group of students brainstorming and discussing
on recycling and social entrepreneurship.
Community Building2011 2014 Community Enabling Plan
All through out his life Alireza Omidvar-Tehran Hub’s Founder-has
tried to find a way to engage the private, social and public
sector of the economy to find better solutions to modern day
challenges. He has established organizations that have worked
extensively on CSR in Iran and has also established the Iran
Entrepreneurship association. Many of the Tehran Hub team
members first came together through the network of this
associations.
The true Kickstart
The first SW event with the theme of Social innovation was held in
one of the main universities of Iran and Vienna’s Impact Hub’s
program manager, was invited to the event. This was Tehran
Hub’s first large public event. Over 120 people attended and
shared their ideas on their perception of “what would Tehran Hub
really look like?” “What values would the Hub need to stand for?”
We built a maker team, began to find potential members and
co-created the visions for a social innovation Hub to connect the
wealth generation concept to Social activities. The Co -
Founders/ Directors team had been formed by 2015 and the
makes/ volunteer team continued growing.
In Tehran Hub we have exceled at the art of hosting. We have
listened to the journey of other Hub members and the challenges
they have faced. We have shared stories and observed the
differences each induced on the Hub design. This has helped to
provide us with a structure and injected inspiration for the journey
ahead.
Technological advances have created an enabling environment
to solve social problems. The developments of “technology use
for social innovation” is in its infancy - and many nodes still need
to be connected and developed.
In order to truly kick start Tehran Hub, negotiations with other
potential funders and donors have been initiated and finally
Samsung and Amirkabir University have come onboard as our
main partners.
In 2014 Tehran Hub initiated its first community enabling activities. It
held a number of monthly training courses at different places for
CSO activists and socially concerned people. The topics ranged
from “Social Responsibility”, “Sustainability” to “Corporate
–Nonprofit partnership” and acted as an open call to early
members of the community; Tehran Hub organized more than 60
Startup weekend events around the country. It also organized
couple of Social Entrepreneurship events as well.
October 2015
One of Tehran Hub's Objectives is to launch an online educational
platform providing content around social innovation and social
entrepreneurship. The programs are designed to suite the Iranian
context. This platform will go live along with Tehran Hub’s official
website in November. The Web-School will offer social
entrepreneurs access to tools, resources, and educational
products and will be focused on social innovation and Social
Entrepreneurship.
2013 The Hub
Alireza Omidvar’s internship at Blue1647 and 1871 in Chicago, was one of the
main catalysts that helped him found a permanent home for social innovators
and entrepreneurs in Iran. The aim was to grow a community based on ideas,
collaboration, innovation and trust. Since 2013 most of the team members in
Tehran Hub have also visited several Impact Hubs in DC, Berlin and Dubai and
participated in Hub workshops to learn more about the value of hosting.
June 2015
In June, Tehran Hub secured a 1000 sq/mt space inside Amir Kabir University to
carry out its operations. This space is currently under renovation and is expected
to be furnished and operational by mid-December.
In the meanwhile, Tehran hub is operating out of its temporary location which is
again provided by Amirkabir University. This temporary home is being used to
host a variety of workshops, events, skill-sharing sessions, etc. this transient period
has also helped to determine requirements and prerequisites for a versatile Hub.
Numerous suppers, talks, and small events have been held and Tehran Hub’s
open space has become a location of choice for people who want to work,
build their ideas and grow their projects. This live prototype has provided TH with
a valuable learning experience alongside a list of interested members.
May 2015
We wanted to celebrate the amazing work of change makers across the city
and begin to shape the future of a Tehran Hub. The evening confirmed the
decision that our team would approach the Impact Hub Association to apply
for candidacy.
20

21. Community building,
Tehran Hubs short term focus
Tehran Hub’s current network has been created through the network of its core team. This network has been instrumental in Tehran Hubs initial growth. But obviously a
limited network cannot go long and Tehran Hub’s next focus would be on community building and network expansion.
Alongside previous activities including workshop and seminars, Tehran Hub is now fortunate to be part of the Thomson Reuters Foundation TrustLaw program. The
program that is active in more than 150 countries, includes Iran in it list of eligible countries for the first time! Through this program Iranian socents can connect to
pro-bono legal services and seek legal counsel related to their operations.
Tehran Hub has also secured partnership with +Acumen, providing courses on and about social innovation and social entrepreneurship.
Other exciting partnerships are also evolving, including Tehran Hub’s prospect collaboration with Echoing Green to organize a webinar/orientation on social innovation,
social entrepreneurship and social enterprises in December 2015.
Tehran Hub’s prospect exchange program will also be the first of its kind. With donors and/or sponsors help, Tehran Hub is ensuring that Iranian social entrepreneurs
benefit from opportunities to learn, prosper and work with others from different cultures and backgrounds. This initiative would hopefully help solve shared problems and
ensure a prosperous future for social entrepreneurs as leaders.
Tehran Hub also initiated numerous collaborations, during the pre-launch stage, with various organizations. As an example and thanks to TH’s advisor, it is planning a
webinar on 3D bio-medical printing technology with VisMed3D, a Chicago based company. The focus of this webinar would be the use of technology for a healthier
and better life.
Other examples include, Bethnal Green Ventures to carry out a webinar on how to organize social innovation camps; Random Hacks of Kindness would lunch a webinar
on how to organize hackathons; and Vertical would lunch a webinar, and possible trip to Helsinki, on how to improve health startups in Iran. Techwadi, AltCity and
Settpartners would also collaborate on the immense and untapped opportunities connecting the Iranian (socent) ecosystem with the wider region of flourishing
ecosystems in West-Asia.
Taking into account the long way we have come, our main focus for the next three months will be:
● Defining a robust governance structure
● Empowering team members
● Officially opening Tehran Hub
● Running community enabling events
● Expanding local partner network
21

22. HUB OPENING- Late February 2016
As soon as we launch, we intend to have a tour where potential members will have the opportunity
to experience the hub, meet the founding members, visit the space and learn about events and
previously hosted teams. There will be numerous incentives, including a discounted membership plan
has been arranged. These incentives will help bring a new wave of potential members to experience
the unique opportunity TH offers. We will kick start this event with a Launch Party. The first 3 months will
continue to have planned ‘Open Hub’ days to gain traction.
22

23. Though the social entrepreneurship, civic and tech innovation community in Iran is growing, it remains fragmented and disconnected. Such structure prevents deeper
collaboration for social, economic and environmental impact.
Reengineering this ‘malfunctioned’ structure requires planning, energy and dedication. For this, Tehran Hub will provide the following services:
Startup weekends/Bootcamps, Panel Discussions, Lectures/Webinars: similar to other services offered at co-working spaces around the world, Tehran Hub - through
startup weekends/bootcamps, as well as engaging panel discussions with leaders in innovation, interactive networking opportunities - creates the conditions for sharing
of knowledge, ideas and resources across socio-economic development, environmental protection/preservation, and social protection sectors while accelerating and
developing meaningful connections among social entrepreneurs, civic and tech innovation community.
Startup Weekends/Bootcamps/Hackathons: are essentially 72-48 hour events, some thematic or focusing on a particular sector, encouraging social entrepreneurs to
develop, present and pitch in a specific timeframe social, economic, environmental or health solutions that can have impact within their community. At these events,
entrepreneurs form groups, have access to local, regional and international mentors, and finally pitch their solutions to an audience of judges, some of whom may be
investors.
‘The Coffeeshop’: for individuals from all the walks of life to meet-up at Tehran Hub. Anyone, who has an interest to meet, connect and network with social
entrepreneurs, civic and tech innovators, creatives, freelancers, corporations can go to ‘The Coffee Shop’.
Coffee and Breakfast talks: smaller events giving Tehran Hub members, members-to-be, investors and potential collaborators to get together in low key events.
Themed speaker lectures/webinars: events, themed and curated on specific topics such as tech, creative, ecology, civic change, impact investing, held at Tehran Hub
to generate ideas and collaborate. Some examples of these themed speaker lectures/webinar would include:
● Speaking events “on social businesses at the ‘bottom of the pyramid’”, or social businesses impacting the lives of those living with less USD 8 per day;
● Speaking and educational events on the use of medical 3D printing technology to alleviate the physical challenges faced by war veterans (http://vismed3d.com/)
● Speaking events on the use of technology to help design better showerheads to increase %70 water savings (https://nebia.com/);
● Speaking events on the use of technology to rethink cleanness, particularly in areas where water is an extremely scare resource (http://motherdirt.com/story)
Very specifically, these themed lectures, speaking events or webinars require Tehran Hub to build partnerships with renowned regional social impact organizations, as
well as international social impact organizations. To name a few, AltCity, the United Nations, UN Foundation, Global Forum on Urban Resilience and Adaptation, Code
for America, Random Hacks of Kindness; TechWadi; Techstars; and also academic institutions, such as Stanford Social Innovation Lab, or Cornell’s Center for
Transformative Action; and impact investing networks, such as Global Impact Investing Network.
Tehran Hub’s Activities and Services
Co-working space
23

24. Tehran Hub intends to invite thought leaders, globally recognized social innovators, and entrepreneurs from these organizations and many others, either to visit Iran for
an in-country speaking event, or through webinars virtually host a speaking event. The aim of the events is spur socially innovative thinking, generate new ideas and
collaborations for social change .
● Book releases, signing and readings: Tehran Impact Hub will collaborate with publishers to provide a platform within Tehran. We have 3 books such as SOCIAL
INNVATION PUBLISHED BY OXFORD under translation already.
● Book releases, signing and readings: Tehran Impact Hub will collaborate with publishers to provide a platform within Tehran. We have 3 books such as SOCIAL
INNVATION PUBLISHED BY OXFORD under translation already.
● Hamdel: Hamdel is a social event and weekly social gathering that focuses on addressing one social challenge each week.
Target areas and topics of choice:
● Tehran Hub we strive to find answers for the following questions and more:
● How health and technology solutions are providing cheaper and quality care within low-income and disadvantaged communities around the world; and how
these solutions are impacting the lives of those living in rural and/or remote areas of the world; how can Iran benefit from these social change health solutions?
● How technology solutions have led to better water irrigation solutions in rural communities; how technology solutions are leading to better water conservation
solutions in areas affected by climate change; how technology is being used to raise awareness and sensitize urban communities about the use and quality of water;
how can Iranians become better at using and conserving water?
● How can Iranian social entrepreneurship develop social change solutions to alleviate poverty within disadvantaged communities?
● How can Iranian social entrepreneurs use technology to solve major traffic problems in the main cities of Iran?
● How can Iranian social entrepreneurs address the quality of air problems in Tehran through technology?
● How can Iranian social entrepreneurs use technology to address logistical, information and humanitarian challenges in the aftermath of an earthquake in Iran?
● How can Iranian cities increase their resilience due to climate change, and how can civic and tech innovators help increase urban resilience?
24

25. A key part of our community building program is the diverse range of events by, with, or at the Hub. Curated by a passionate and talented team and adjusted to world
class standards, these events will be organized solely by the hub or designed with collaborators.
Most of the essential and inseparable parts of our diverse range of community building events, is held and organized by our enthusiastic and devoted team. The events
can be local, regional and international. They can be trendy and fashionable events or several workshops, startup weekends and hackathons. We will also have a
range of flexible and inspiring spaces to showcase and host the city’s most sensational events. Although the Hub yet to be officially launched, we have held several
events such as social start-up weekends and social business model/canvas workshops and bootcamps. Hamdel is also a networking event with the presence of social
entrepreneurs, invited as special guests, exclusively designed for Tehran Hub which takes place every Sunday afternoon.
The Accelerator
The accelerator is an additional educational program offered to social entrepreneurs and social innovators to catapult their organizations into viable social enterprises.
A number of our program providers include +Acumen, Philanthropy University and Coursera, each of which provide popular online courses. The goal of the accelerator
program is to select impact and purpose driven social innovators in Iran, and provide them with the necessary tools and resources to grow their ideas into viable social
enterprises, and in the process, becoming better and more effective leaders and managers.
The tools and resources that are provided through the co-working and accelerator program are among others:
Mentorship support: Tehran Hub is building a mentor pool. Mentors play a vital role in the development of the Iranian social innovation space. Their role in supporting
social entrepreneurs and developing their ideas into viable social enterprises is crucial. Tehran Hub mentors can be Iranians, Europeans, American or whoever that can
add value to its cause. Specifically, though Tehran Hub mentors must have:
● Proven social and/or business entrepreneurship track record;
● Demonstrate a strong entrepreneurial attitude and spirit aligned with that of The Hub;
● Unique knowledge, skillset and abilities to enhance the mix of mentors’ portfolio;
● Pragmatic, action oriented and hands on approach in bringing ideas into action;
● Vast experience and knowledge, to help provide hub members with fresh perspectives and ideas on programmatic, business, planning, strategic management
issues;
● Expanded network, taking part in attracting new pools, or networks of future advisors, mentors and investors;
● Sharing personality, acting as a facilitator or speakers in events (i.e. hackathons, startup weekends), contributing to content development for The Hub website
through interviews and etc.
● Connect social entrepreneurs to funding sources, including VC, impact investors, grants, and potential diaspora funding.
25

26. ● Fundraising: Tehran Hub is connecting ties with foundations in the US and EU who are aligned with its mission. These entities are basically public and private
foundations that can support Tehran Hub programs, and also support social entrepreneurs in Iran. Part of this fundraising, includes building partnerships with key
organizations that are supporting social entrepreneurs around the world, including among others Echoing Green, Unreasonable Institute, SoCap. These are among the
most important US organizations that globally offer social entrepreneurs opportunities to connect with networks of impact investors, impact entrepreneurs, social
change makers, thought leaders and internationally recognized social innovators. This is a crucial component in the accelerator, as it offers Iranian social activists to
grow, and scale their social enterprises, and connect to international social change networks.
Diaspora Engagement
The Diaspora Engagement-program at Tehran Hub provides Iranian diaspora members alongside other diaspora members in the US and EU with a more effective and
systematic avenue. This would facilitate the synergy between their resources, expertise and networks to support social enterprises in Iran.
The Diaspora engagement program enables the Iranian diaspora members and other diaspora members to allocate resources and expertise (through mentoring), and
also to network (by connecting to Iranian social entrepreneurs to investors, and other mentors). Because of Tehran Hub’s rigorous selection process, social entrepreneurs
receiving accelerator services go through a due diligence process, upgrading their leadership, management and program systems. Members of the Iranian diaspora
can therefore enjoy the peace of mind and provide them confident that allocating their resources, expertize and networks will not go to waste!
At the same time, we are hopeful, that in due course members of the Iranian diaspora in the US and EU will have an opportunity to directly remit financially, and
systematically support social enterprises in Iran.
Advocacy for Social Enterprise
Tehran Hub will trigger Impact investing and also Social Enterprise related laws or legislations. One major challenge that the social enterprise ecosystem is currently
experiencing is the lack of a legal framework for any kind for social enterprise. In other words social innovators can only pursue their dream under the currently available
legal frameworks such as LLC’s or NGO’s. But the goal of a social enterprise is primarily to provide a solution for a social challenge, governments and the legal
atmosphere should support these entities as much as possible. This could be through a progressive legal framework and other incentives such as tax policies. Such
policies would help the social economy flourish.…
26

27. The following communities are the key areas that Tehran Hub has identified as vital to be part of its network. We believe without a balance of the following communities
the Hub will not be efficient for Tehran.
WHO?
Community Clusters
Entrepreneurs
/SME
Networked
Individuals
Creative
Practitioners
Intrapreneurs Freelancers Activists Tech Minded
People
Angel investorsSocial
Entrepreneurs
Social Innovators,
entrepreneurs,
startups, new
initiative and
project developers
who can profit or
non profit making.
We believe they
are the core of our
community
Organizations &
Entrepreneurs who
may not solely
identity with have
a social impact
focus. But whose
values align with
the Tehran Hub
Community & want
to be part of
community to
expand their own
purpose, ways of
working, &
potential
.collaborators
We believe it is
important to
continue attracting
new players to the
community for
collaborations and
new ways of
.thinking for all
Highly networked
& successful
individuals from a
range of
organizations but
who are
interested/work
closely with
purpose driven
work,
entrepreneurship
social investment,
social impact. It will
allow us to grow a
community with
strong pro &
knowledge sharing
opportunities but
also expanding our
.networks
Creative
practitioners and
producers who are
looking at creative
ways to explore
social
environmental and
sivic issues. We
believe ths will be
a large proportion
of our membership
due to our location
in the center of
Tehran and the
high numbers of
freelance creative
producers in the
city bedinning to
shift their focus to
purpose driven
social impact
.focused themes
Individuals working
in large
corporates, local
or national
government,
housing
associations and
other large bodies
who acival help
develop, build or
promote practical
solutions to social,
environmental or
.civic challenges
Those who work
from home or
coffee shop
spaces, need a
sence of
belonging,
workspace, flexible
membership
opportunities and
want to be in a
community of like
minded people to
grow their own
business and
expose their
business to new
customes. We
believe they are
the largest
elements of the
.community
Non for profit
organizations
Social and
environment
Activists
Young leaders who
are emerging from
many of the cities
young people s
organisations,
leadership courses
.and fellowships
of our %40
population is under
we know this ,35
opportunity will be
huge, however
barriers to access
will be higher, so
will be developing
collaborations to
create
opportunities to this
part of the
community as we
believe they will be
the future core of
Impact Hub
tartups and tech
savvy people
developers
Innovators
makers
Game lovers and
technology fans
Geeks
Angel funder,
private investor, or
seed investor or
Investors who
cares about social
challenges
27

28. The following communities are the key areas that Tehran Hub has identified as vital to be part of its network. We believe without a balance of the following communities
the Hub will not be efficient for Tehran.
VALUE PROPOSITION
Community Clusters
Platform for Global
and Local
Collaboration,
Knowledge Sharing
and Networking
Collaborative
Workspace
Access to events
and to host events
Venture Design,
Social Innovation
core theme at
Hub, access to
programs,
knowledge,
funding
Platform for Global
and Local
Collaboration,
Knowledge Sharing
and Networking
Collaborative
Workspace
Access to events
and to host events
Access to
inspiration,
resources and
community that
will grow and
expand existing
business models
and thinking
Platform for Global
and Local
Collaboration,
Knowledge Sharing
and Networking
Collaborative
Workspace
Access to events
and to host events
Access to
inspiration,
resources and
community that
will grow and
expand existing
business models
and thinking
Platform for Global
and Local
Collaboration,
Knowledge Sharing
and Networking
Collaborative
Workspace
Access to events
and to host events
Access to
communities that
broaden practice,
ideas and event
space that can
bring creative and
impact
communities
together to foster
innovation ideas
Platform for Global
and Local
Collaboration,
Knowledge Sharing
and Networking
Collaborative
Workspace
Access to events
and to host events
Access to world
accelerated
learning,
incubation, ideas,
innovation and
resources, unique
to what they would
have access to
within their large
organizations
Platform for Global
and Local
Collaboration,
Knowledge Sharing
and Networking
Collaborative
Workspace
Access to events
and to host events
A sense of
community,
belonging, like
minded individuals,
the opportunity to
grow and expand.
Access to new
business
Platform for Global
and Local
Collaboration,
Knowledge Sharing
and Networking
Collaborative
Workspace
Access to events
and to host events
A sense of
community,
belonging, like
minded individuals,
the opportunity to
grow and expand.
Access to new
business
tPlatform for
Global and Local
Collaboration,
Knowledge Sharing
and Networking
Collaborative
Workspace
Access to events
and to host events
A sense of
community,
belonging, like
minded individuals,
the opportunity to
grow and expand.
Access to new
business
Platform for Global
and Local
Collaboration,
Knowledge Sharing
and Networking
Collaborative
Workspace
Access to events
and to host events
A sense of
community,
belonging, like
minded individuals,
the opportunity to
grow and expand.
Access to new
business
28

29. Premium Partners - Large corporations can benefit from the prospering startup community. In TH’s case, our premium partners can be the government, and large
telecommunication companies, donating significant funds to support the startup social entrepreneurships community.
Supporting Partners - still donating but not as much as Premium Partners. They donate small amount of money in addition to in kind donations and free services to
members. In TH’s case, these partners can be Internet Service Providers like Pars Online, Hosting Companies, Anetwork, and other mature startups whose services are
needed.
Service Partners - providing free or discounted services. For TH, these partners could be ISPs, Hosting and Domain providers, SMS relays, Online Stores, Advertising
Platforms, etc. These partners can include international companies since no financial transactions are made.
Strategic Partners
Amirkabir University is the
pioneer of sustainable
development in Iran and
Tehran Hub is located in the
Technology tower of
Amirkabir University..
CGR Development Center is a
non for profit organization that
promotes Corporate
Governance and Corporate
Social Responsibility in Iran.
Samsung Electronics is Tehran
Hubs premium Partner and it
provided the hub with its initial
fundings.
Iran Social Entrepreneurship
Associations
Corporate Governance Responsibility
Development Center
Amirkabir University of Technology
Tehran Polytechnic
29

30. Tehran Hub is located at the junction of Enqelab
and Valiasr avenues where ancient Iran meets
the brave new world.
Valiasr Avenue is Tehran’s longest avenue that
connects its southernmost point to the furthest
northern end. It is considered one of Tehran's
main thoroughfares and commercial centers. It
is also the longest street in the Middle East, and
reported as one of the longest in the world. It is
also considered one of the most historical parts
of the city. Historical houses and sites dating
back to different eras are located along the
avenue. Valiasr Avenue is the hub of different
activities in Tehran and innumerable shops and
restaurants as well a large number of parks,
highways, cultural centers are situated along this
long avenue. As vibrant as this avenue is, it has
always been a popular location for numerous
enterprises and diverse groups of people and
businesses.
Some of Tehran’s most reputable universities
such as Amirkabir University and Tehran
University are also located in this area.
Theatre Shahr or the city theater is also one of
Tehran’s most famous, artistic, eye catching
monument having its own charm and historical
background.
City Theater is surrounded by a park named
Daneshjou (students). It is Iran’s largest theater
complex comprising five halls, a fabulous place
to go to the theatre and hang out with friends.
While lots of students, artists, musicians are
around, the center of Tehran is even lovelier.
This positive location aspects gives Tehran Hub a
strategic positioning for meeting its objectives
and performing its activities.
After months of planning, researching and
working with our community we have secured
1000 square meter of Amirkabir University
building.
Location is the single most important
consideration for site selection. Within location,
several variables were identified, offered in
below:
● Accessibility by transit
● Proximity to the downtown core and top
Universities of Tehran
● Proximity to surrounding personal and
professional amenities( restaurants, photo
copiers, professional services)
● Proximity to clients and colleagues
● Proximity to/ availability of green space
● Safety and security
● Student and youth city life
Location
30

31. Space + Community= Innovation
The space is the foundation of Tehran Hub and
sets the tone for everything else. The space also
sets the condition for the community. When
people feel comfortable, then are content to
spend time in the Hub and build relationships
with other members. That is when the
community forms. Community relationships
allows members to exchange ideas, collaborate
easily and to find services and access
knowledge that might otherwise be hard to
come by. This is when innovation occurs.
800 sqm
150 Workspaces
3 Meeting Rooms
2 Conference Rooms
1 Flexible events space
The Space
31

32. The End