Sarava pars venture capital firm : the case of the emerging start-up market of Iran

The case study is about Sarava Venture Capital firm which has focused its investments on the emerging start-up market of Iran. The firm has been involved in improving its business operations in the post-sanction era where it has managed to attract funds from an Iran-focused Swedish foreign investor, the Pomegranate Investment Company. As the company reaches a crossroad in its evolutionary path, the CEO of the company challenges the management team by a few questions that are over five main topics. Firstly, Sarava needs to realize a reliable source of funds apart from internal ones. Secondly, what start-up markets would be the right ones to aim at for further investments and then what stage of lifecycle should the start-ups be at for Sarava to invest in them. The next issue of importance was about the transformation of service provision for entrepreneurs and their start-ups and the optimization of training courses and processes of admission into Sarava's accelerator programmes. Lastly, the case focuses on the possible exit methods for start-ups and how and if they can be into practice in Iran given the relevant Iranian business rules and regulations.