Note from the Publisher:   Maybe it's where our head's at today, but we're finding fintech stories (or lack thereof) in some intersting and strange places.  We get press releases from all kinds of folks at FintekNews, and today one showed up from UNCTAD, short for United Nations Conference on Trade & Development.  The assessment was of Iran and their science and technology infrastructure, but nowhere in the 9 page report was there ANY mention of fintech.  We're not super surprised.  Rhis is, after all, an oil state.  However, given that fintech is exploding all over the planet, it seems it SHOULD be a sector they are focusing on and developing in conjunction with the oil sector, nanotechnology (mentioned in the report) and others.  Just our two cents, though. 

"Tehran, 6 December 2016 – The Islamic Republic of Iran has developed the science and technology skills necessary to be a global player in more than oil and gas, but must invest more in innovation to compete effectively in the global economy, according to an UNCTAD report.

Since 2005, when UNCTAD last assessed the country's policies on science, technology and innovation (STI), Iran has had one of the world's fastest growing scientific outputs, climbing from 34th to 16th position in terms of scientific publications. Its population now has the world’s second-highest number of engineer graduates per capita, says UNCTAD's new Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Review for Iran.

"Iran’s impressive human resources position it well to seize the opportunity of reconnecting with the global economy, and its policies on science, technology, and innovation will be critical to its success,” said Shamika Sirimanne, Director of UNCTAD's Division on Technology and Logistics.

"UNCTAD is happy to support and to work with Iran at this important moment in their history," Ms. Sirimanne said ahead of the report’s launch in Tehran on Tuesday.

Iran has shown it can do top-notch research and work with technology, even in emerging sectors like nanotech, but the challenge now is to commercialize this knowledge, the report finds.

In place since 1980 and strengthened in 2008, sanctions may have limited Iran's access to foreign finance, technologies and markets, but they also forced the country to become self-reliant. Iran is now the most economically diverse oil-producing country in West Asia."

See UN Report Here:  Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Review for Iran