Dubai: Conovi, an online start-up incubator based in Dubai, plans to launch a series of digital ventures tailored to the Iranian market and bridge the gap between the Farsi-speaking audiences globally.
Conovi’s first commercial business, Chimigi, is formed by partnering with Pars Online, the largest private internet service provider in Iran, and will be launched in July.
Chimigi in Farsi means “what do you think?”, “what are you saying?”, “what are you up to?”
“The facility will send emails to registered consumers and business professionals on promotional content and surveys based on categories of interest they have specified,” said Amir Esmail Bozorgzadeh, managing partner at Conovi.
He said around 50 per cent of the Iran’s 72 million population are internet users and Iran is also the biggest blogosphere in the world in terms of its population. A major share of the top 15 websites in the country is blogs.
Chimigi will only send its subscribers “the content if they have agreed to receive, be it promotions, offers and coupons, or surveys about products and brands. All the same time, subscribers have the option to choose how often they want to be contacted,” he said.
“We are in close talks with three major brands and plan to launch the second wave of ventures next year by introducing new models that will continue to add value to the online Farsi-speaking market.”
“One of them will be a Farsi online casual gaming business which is gaining strong traction because Iran is a thirsty market,” Bozorgzadeh said.
Conovi is also determined to launch proven business models into the Iranian internet market and supply “consumers and businesses [who are otherwise deeply underserved] with new platforms, portals and content,” he said.
When asked whether US sanctions will impact its business, he said: ”Sanctions have been around for more than 30 years and so the country has become used to it and moreover, an update on March 20 by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Department of Treasury had said that certain internet categories such as instant messaging, chat and email, social networking, sharing of photos and movies, web browsing, and blogging are not restricted,” he said.
“Our mission is to serve as the digital doorway or bridge between foreign companies eager to understand and engage with the Farsi-speaking community,” Bozorgzadeh said.
