The National Development Fund (NDF) has introduced a $2 billion foreign-currency facility for border-region exporters, adopting a direct disbursement model that bypasses traditional commercial bank channels.
NDF Chief Mehdi Ghazanfari said a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) mandates direct Rial and foreign-currency payments to verified applicants, ensuring full traceability of repatriated export proceeds—a key safeguard given Iran's limited access to international payment systems.
While acknowledging that a previous $1.5 billion rural allocation generated limited economic activity, as much of the funding remained in bank deposits rather than supporting productive investment, the NDF said the new approach is intended to improve the efficiency of fund deployment. The Fund also noted that earlier conversions of roughly $10 billion into Rials under Article 52 have lost substantial value over time, highlighting persistent fiscal challenges.
Despite this operational shift, the NDF said it remains committed to its strategic priorities, including oil, mining, advanced technologies and reconstruction in war-affected areas. Ghazanfari stressed that border regions must combine technological development with the use of local resources to achieve living standards comparable to other parts of the country. By directly linking financing to verifiable export performance, the NDF aims to strengthen transparency and fiscal discipline. Although the new model places the responsibility for vetting small-scale exporters directly on the Fund rather than commercial banks, it represents a step toward a more efficient, accountable and modernized financing mechanism.
