In Face of Covid Pandemic IWMF Goes Online
Every year in mid-February, stars of Iran startup ecosystem and newcomers seeking an opportunity to shine gathered in Tehran for the finale of Iran Web and Mobile Festival, but not this year.
Covid-19 has reshaped life and business across the continents. Having that bitter reality in mind and to adhere to social distancing measure, IWMF organizers have overhauled the event and turned it into an online gathering. Everyone from anywhere across the globe can follow the event — note that all programs will be in Persian.
The online event will include prerecorded messages and talks along with live panels and debates which will be streamed on Instagram.
As part of the event, documentaries about Iran startup ecosystem are to be released online as well. Furthermore, during talks and panels prominent figures will discuss 2020’s impact on Iran startup ecosystem. Some of the key topics that will be discussed by panelists will be the impact of coronavirus on Iran startup ecosystem and the prospect of business in coming months.
Just like previous rounds of IWMF, Iran startup ecosystem has embraced Iran Web and Mobile Festival with business insiders and tech aficionados enthusiastically participating in the festival.
Despite Covid-19 taking a harsh toll on business, IWMF organizers have recorded lively participation in the festival’s competition, especially in fields of online sales, digital marketing, e-health, fintech, and business-to-business (B2B) services.
One of the highlights of Iran Web and Mobile Festival is a competition annually held between top Iranian startups and knowledge-based companies. We already have discussed how IWMF competition works in an earlier.
For participating in the competition, businesses are required to register on IWMF website. Over 2,400 websites and mobile applications enrolled in this round of the event. The firms were grouped in 62 categories. In the first round of the competition only 1,400 were deemed qualified by the voters. Then the participants were shortlisted to 300. The winners of the competition will be announced on February 19.
This for the first time IWMF introduced a new category titled online movies and series. Two categorize recorded the highest rate of participation in the 13th round of IWMF, namely agriculture and fintech. One of the other fields which recorded a sharp surge in participation was e-learning. With Covid-19 shutting down schools, the number of websites and online education services has tripled.
