TEHRAN – Iran held its first national event to rank small and medium-sized enterprises (SME 100), a joint initiative by the Industrial Management Organization (IMO) and the Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization (ISIPO), aimed at identifying the country’s top-performing SMEs through a structured evaluation process.

The event, held in Tehran, marks the first coordinated effort involving ISIPO, the National Standards Organization and several development agencies, based on studies and assessment models proposed by the IMO.

A public call for participation was issued in late June, prompting companies to register on the dedicated platform. Evaluation teams then conducted on-site visits, collected evidence and recorded scores, which were reviewed by the secretariat. The process culminated in the selection and announcement of 100 leading small and medium-sized enterprises across the country.

Speaking at the event, Qasem Khorrami, head of the Industrial Management Organization, said small industries form the backbone of industrial development.

He noted that during the drafting of Iran’s second seven-year development plan in 1956, policymakers gave significant attention to the role and importance of SMEs in the national economy.

Khorrami said ISIPO was originally formed under the Ministry of Economy based on recommendations from the Industrial Management Organization, before later joining the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade in 1981.

He added that today’s concept of small industries is not simply a scaled-down continuation of large factories but is defined by workforce size and aligned with global approaches influenced by ideas such as the “justice as fairness” philosophy.

He pointed to welfare-state and liberal economic theories of the 1970s, which emphasized that development must improve public welfare, reduce poverty and expand access to the benefits of growth—roles in which small industries serve as essential building blocks.

Khorrami said this concept did not receive consistent attention in Iran historically, but during the drafting of the second seven-year plan it regained focus, alongside early proposals to establish the country’s first development bank.

EF/MA