For more information and complete list of startups and etc you can check this out.

Note: This guest post is Written by Maryam Ansari, Maryam is an Iranian author, project manager and translator. She obtained her B.A. in Persian literature from university of Tehran and is now studying her M.A. in French literature. She believes in translation as a means for progress. She is currently focused on Ladybug, a project to encourage women’s presence in the tech scene. You can follow her on Twitter or Connect her via Linkedin.

Ladybug (“Kafshdoozak” in Persian) is a project that seeks to encourage, empower and prepare a generation of Iranian women who will be enthusiastic about and active in different technological fields. It delivers this mission through the following steps:

Campaigning
To inform men and women of the gender gap that exists in the tech field, Ladybug publishes articles and interviews on a regular basis. By highlighting the achievements of successful women in spite of this gap, Iranian women will have role-models to look up to.

Training
Members in Ladybug Club are provided with online courses on a variety of tech-related subjects. Ladybug also host workshops to train women with necessary skills on entrepreneurship, creative skillsets, web and mobile design, programming, etc.

Support
Ladybug members and trainees will benefit from a professional network through which they will be able to form circles, start their start-ups, promote themselves as freelancers or apply for job interviews. In the long term, by coaching, mentoring and fund-raising, Ladybug aspires to help women in their personal and professional growth.
The vision is to balance the workforce in Iran and equip women with the inspiration and support they need to fill half of the positions in the flourishing IT industry. Ladybug seeks to fill the gender gap that exists today by insisting on the presence of women, not separating them from men.

The story of Ladybug
Two years ago, the autumn of 2012, was when the Idea of ladybug occurred to its founders. As the world of internet and tech has been male-dominated in Iran as in many other countries, they have always perceived the absence of women in the tech scene. While surfing the web, they came across Ladygeek, a project that sought to increase the part women play in technology. They searched further, there were a handful of other inspiring projects and organizations with the sole goal of encouraging women to choose and pursue tech. They thought “why not us? Why not Iran?”

Then began their quest to identify the problems that prevented Iranian women from equally participating in the tech scene. Ladybug was the solution they prepared to right the wrongs. It took them 6 months to develop an operational plan and form their team. The first webpage was launched on June 2013, then started the campaigning that attracted the attention of the press as well as the public. Then Ladybug Club was developed in the following months: primarily a LMS that allows members to study an online course, pass the exams and receive the course certification. The Club (beta version launched on June 2014) helps Ladybug unify all of its objectives in one place, as features like “support” and “professional circles” will be added. Now, in the summer of 2014, Ladybug is hosting its workshops, while keeping in touch with its fans and members via newsletters, Twitter, and Facebook.

Along the way, there were many volunteers and well-known IT specialists that helped and advised the team, promoted the project, accepted to train the members and are continuing to do so. The team and the members of Ladybug are grateful for all their help. Let us hope that one day, everyone in Iran web scene will contribute to this project by their whole-hearted support, if not by their time and energy.

The Bridge 2014 conference (September 6, 2014 at the UC Berkeley Wheeler Auditorium) is predicated on the notion that the promotion of entrepreneurship, and innovation is the indispensable key to sustainable growth. This gathering will be part of a global effort to draw attention to “High Tech Entrepreneurship in Iran: Opportunities and Challenges.” This tagline represents the Bridge 2014 vision of calling upon change makers and thought leaders both in Silicon Valley and Iran. According to Kamran Elahian, Chairman and Co-Founder of Global Catalyst Partners, “We believe Silicon Valley and Iran’s thought leaders can empower aspiring young entrepreneurs that are striving to make a difference in this world.” “We envision this conference to be a precursor to future international events where highly accomplished executives will coach/mentor their aspiring counterparts from Iran.”

Conference participants will educate each other about the issues impacting high tech entrepreneurship in Iran, the prevailing conditions in the country that deviate from the “global innovation model” and the steps that should be taken to reduce this gap. Bridge 2014 complies with sanctions and corresponding laws. According to Kamran Elahian, “During this gathering, these key influencers with diverse backgrounds will share their vision, experiences, and perspectives for creating a better world through the power of innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit. This conference explores the role of high tech in economic development: where change is the catalyst and choice is unlimited.”

The issues that will be explored in this educational conference include: the attraction of venture capital, cultural attitudes towards entrepreneurs’ failure, existence of innovation clusters, the ease of starting businesses, and the availability and accessibility of mentors and role models. According to Dariush Zahedi, Director of the Berkeley Program on Entrepreneurship and Development in the Middle East, “We will examine the circumstances under which high tech entrepreneurship and innovation can emerge as engines of inclusive growth, reducing the country’s dependence on extractive industries, expanding the size of its middle class, reversing the flight of capital, and promoting the circulation of the brain-drain.”

Bridge 2014’s activities are hosted and sponsored by UC Berkeley. More than thirty companies, non-profit organizations and community leaders have provided support and donations for this event. For the list of sponsors, please see: www.bridge2014.org/donation.
About Bridge 2014
Bridge 2014 – “High Tech Entrepreneurship in Iran: Opportunities and Challenges” conference and additional activities, including subsequent conferences, research and publications are under the supervision/auspices of the UC Berkeley Program on Entrepreneurship and Development in the Middle East: bped.berkeley.edu.