Iran's tech sector blooms under shield of sanctions

Teheran

THE names may be unfamiliar but the services are immediately recognisable: Snapp is Iran's answer to Uber, Digikala is its Amazon, and Pintapin its Booking.com.

US sanctions have protected the Islamic republic's technology sector, barring Silicon Valley from profiting from one of the world's most promising emerging markets, and giving a free run to domestic startups to recreate their services.