Azari Jahromi’s Note for Digikala’s Annual Report

Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, the Minister of Communications in the Twelfth Administration, in a note written for Digikala’s annual report, discussed the impact of platforms like Digikala on job creation and increasing the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

In part of his note, Azari Jahromi wrote: “If governments work to facilitate the activities of these platforms, they have greatly contributed to the country in all areas, including the expansion of social justice. Removing obstacles to the operation of these businesses and avoiding the creation of barriers and traps for these platforms should be among the priorities of a justice-oriented government.”

The full text of Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi’s note reads:

“These days, all governments around the world are striving to grow their gross domestic product (GDP) and outcompete other nations in providing welfare for their citizens. One of the fundamental actions that governments must take is to provide facilities that allow citizens to turn potential capacities into actual capacities, reaching productive capacity, and thereby fostering development in the country. Creating these conditions is one of the key elements in the development of social justice in today’s world.

Companies like Digikala, which manage a platform economy, create conditions for citizens to turn their potential capacities into actual capacities, and this has several benefits: it creates jobs and increases the country’s GDP.

Currently, citizens can market any product they produce through platforms at minimal cost, which leads to job creation and an increase in the national gross domestic product.

If governments work to facilitate the activities of these platforms, they have greatly contributed to the country in all areas, including the expansion of social justice. Removing obstacles to the operation of these businesses and avoiding the creation of barriers and traps for these platforms should be among the priorities of a justice-oriented government. The government must take the economy out of the hands of favored individuals and turn it into a people’s economy.

Let’s remember that a platform economy means a people’s economy, and we should avoid an economy that concentrates benefits in the hands of a few. If the government wants to make the economy more people-centered, it should not go to war with startups or label them as security threats, nor should it block their financial resources. The path to growth must not be closed.

The path that Digikala has embarked upon is a significant social responsibility and will lead to the development of the digital economy, the expansion of social justice, and the creation of jobs.

My recommendation to Digikala is to prepare itself for competitive conditions in the coming year. I understand that monopoly in a business can have its advantages, but the growth and innovation that competition brings cannot be found under any other circumstances; although part of creating this competitive environment is the responsibility of policymakers, embracing competition is a valuable capacity that should occur within Digikala.