Azadeh Danandeh (1959-2021) was the CEO of Fanavaran Information Technology Company and an persian entrepreneur. She was also the former chairwoman of the National Association of Women Entrepreneurs and the former chairwoman of the board of directors of the Tehran Province Computer Trade Union Organization. Azadeh Danandeh was born in Tehran in 1959 and continued her studies in computer engineering at Shiraz University in 1979. Azadeh Danandeh is one of the few girls who graduated in engineering in 1985 after the Cultural Revolution. Over the years, her role as a woman in the IT field and proving the presence of women in the management ranks of this field has been significant. Azadeh Danandeh passed away on February 17, 2022. The Azadeh Innovation Award for Women was held in 2023 to commemorate the late Azadeh Danandeh

The Azadeh Innovation Festival is designed to honor the legacy of the knowledgeable Azadeh women and in response to their constant concern for innovative activities, especially for women. It is held annually and covers specific areas each year. The main target audience for attending the festival is women active in launching and managing IT startups, but alongside these, business owners and women, IT-based industries, investors and supporters of IT startups, entrepreneurs from science and technology cities and parks, growth centers and accelerators, and students, professors, and those interested in entrepreneurship and startups are also present

Iran Guereh Collection is a startup active in the field of issuing identity cards and ownership certificates for handwoven persian rug. Zahra Shavandi, a member of the board of directors and director of Iran Guereh, said about how she became acquainted with the Azadeh Danandeh Festival: "Since I recently became a member of the Women Entrepreneurs Association, I became acquainted with the Azadeh Festival through this, and I participated in this event to introduce Iran Guereh Collection as an active and innovative company, as well as to introduce the art of persian rug and develop its culture." She added that I believe this festival is a very good solution to support the business of women entrepreneurs and managers and to develop creative businesses at the national and international levels. It should be noted that out of more than 100 companies registered in this event, Iran Guereh Collection was introduced as one of 40 technological and innovative companies

Zahra Behrouz-Azar, Vice President for Women's Affairs, visited the Iran Guereh complex at the Azadeh Innovation and Technology Festival and considered issuing an identity card for every handwoven persian rug to be important

Zahra Behrouz-Azar, Deputy President for Women's Affairs, said that she would begin her speech by referring to her feelings and memories with Azadeh Danandeh. She expressed her appreciation for the efforts of the Women Entrepreneurs Association and its efforts to expand women's entrepreneurship and strengthen the women's field. She considers this award valuable because it has turned attention to the women's field from a slogan into action. The next important point was to pay attention to the capacity of the women's field, especially educated women who account for more than 60 percent of university admissions, which Behrouz-Azar mentioned in her speech. She praised the trust of the Innovation and Prosperity Fund in associations and society, and as a result of this trust, the associations, along with the government, have provided solutions to solve social and people-based issues

After the Deputy Minister of Women and Family, Fatemeh Mohajerani, the spokesperson for the 14th government and the first female spokesperson in the Islamic Republic, will deliver a speech. She considers Azadeh Danandeh’s originality as one of the factors that has helped her grow; that she maintained and played her role in all aspects of her life

In her speech, Maryam Khavazi, the chairwoman of the Azadeh Innovation Award Steering Committee, announced the goal of the event as identifying female startups in less developed regions. She stated that the main vision of the association is to identify, attract, create opportunities, and network for innovative female startups, especially in developed regions that do not have access to financial resources

In the final part of the closing ceremony of the second edition of the Azadeh Innovation Award, the top winners in the three categories of companies, startups, and buds were honored and appreciated, and the first to third-place teams and groups received their prizes of 500, 400, and 300 million rials, respectively

The names of the winners of the Azadeh Innovation Award, which was awarded in three indicators, are as follows

Artina from Zanjan for NFT and metaverse, Mayatech from Tehran for smart tags for store shelves, Tavanism from Tehran for a job search platform for people with disabilities, and the worthy group in this section for Avanma (a sound-to-light converter device for the deaf and hard of hearing)

The winners in the startups section were Momkit from Bandar Abbas, Zarang Ulum from Tabriz for a smart platform for science education, and Doctor Assistant from Golpayegan for a smart platform for recording patient records

The winners in the corporate category were Dahir for its smart aquaculture platform, Djino for its click advertising fraud detection platform, and Armo for its augmented reality equipment

Video report from the Azadeh event