Why IRAN is the best place for doing business in MENA ?

In my earlier post I`ve briefly explained regarding Iran and now I want to go deep and review why Iran is the most exciting place to doing business?

To echo my previous post:

Iran is the second largest economy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region after Saudi Arabia according to World bank which makes Iran second high value market in the region  with 78M population is larger than any other country in the region except for Egypt. 71 percent are living in urban areas, and Tehran and its satellite towns are home to almost 18 million inhabitants.

One of the most interesting factor about Iran is that over 60% of the population are under 30 with one of highest ratio of education.

Population growth trend

Majority of the youth are tech-savvy and always welcoming new  technologies and innovations.  always interested regarding new brands and products. For example in Gaming market Iran is one of the richest counties.

  • Over 23,000,000 Iranians are active Gamer.
  • 53% of Gamers are daily active users.
  • 4 our of  5 families in Iran have a device for playing games.
  • An average time for playing games in Iran is 79 minutes per day.

And total annual revenue for gaming industry is around %200M

  • Economy of Iran:

 is a mixed and transition economy with a large public sector. Some 60 percent of the economy is centrally planned  dominated by oil and gas production, although over 40 industries are directly involved in the Tehran Stock Exchange, one of the best performing exchanges in the world over the past decade.The latest MENA Economic Monitor Report – Spring 2016, expects Iran’s growth to rise to 4.2 % and 4.6 % in 2016 and 2017, as a result of the lifting of the sanctions and a more business-oriented environment. Also with 10 percent of the world’s proven oil reserves and 15 percent of its gas reserves, Iran is considered an Energy Superpower!

  • High potential consuming market :

Iran’s 80 million people, who have been all but cut off from global trade and transactions in recent years, after Iran reached a nuclear deal that will open its markets to the world, officials are warning of economic stagnation as consumers hold off on purchases of domestic goods while they wait for international brands to arrive.From cars to fridges and televisions, shoppers are excited at the prospect of more choice and competition. Iranians love consume & shop, and they have continued to surprise domestic and international brands with their resilience. I will give you some examples to have better understanding of the whole picture:

  • Over M130 Sim-card has been sold. 14% post paid & 86% is prepaid.
  • Total mobile market size is one million device per month with ASP of $135.
  • TV market size is 2.5M devices per year.
  • Iran ranked 13th in top 20 in terms of Automotive industry with one million volume market size.
  • Iran Medical Equipment is over $1.8B per year.
  • Annual Food consumption : $90B
  •  Annual clothing market size : $28B
  • Beauty and Personal Care market size is more than two million USD per year & growing.

Beauty & Makeup

Bearing in mind the problems Iran has faced over the last years, and the restrictions imposed on it, the resilience of this market is in many ways mind-boggling.

  • Competition with Local brands:

There is almost no competition in terms of local brands except Dairy sector which  there are some local brands available with strong backbone although recent days, there are many multinational FMCG companies are showing interest and willing to invest. For example companies like Bel group, Danone & etc,. which are benefiting the market due to early entry and proper planning.

  • Iranian are fascinated about foreign brands and are willing to pay.

Due to the low quality of local brand and unreasonable price, Iranian shoppers rather to after  foreign brands and be cause of this reason for the past years, sanction and embargoes forced international brands to avoid being involved in Iran market and as the demand always was there, consumers were facing fake and unauthentic market.

  • The government warmly welcomes attraction of foreign investments:

To accelerate its economic growth, Iran government is interested in cooperation between foreign companies.

By considering above, there is no doubt that Iran is the most exciting market with huge potential in MENA of course you must know The art of doing business with Iran.

For further information or if you have any questions please contact me.

Cheers!

Iman Soltani

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *