CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — The Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) initiated a meet and match between franchisors and potential franchisees in apparent hopes of tapping into latent business opportunities in this southern city.
“Franchise Negosyo Para Sa Cagayan de Oro, was a business matching-expo-seminar which sought to attract mainly the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) segment, took place from April 19 to 20, at the Ayala Centrio Mall.
“We bring Franchise Negosyo to regions to promote franchising as a tool of economic development, for generating enterprises and nation-building to as many Filipinos in the provinces,” said PFA President Richard Sanz.
He identified globalization and developing and supporting MSMEs as PFA’s priority programs for the next two years. “We are encouraging local brands to go global by providing them with the right tools and networks to connect to the international markets,” he explained.
Sanz said that the composition of PFA membership consists of 5 percent micro, 29 percent small, 29 percent medium and 37 large enterprises. “Almost 70 percent of our membership belong to small and medium enterprises that we encourage to go big by way of giving them capacity-building and mentoring (programs) to have access to markets to expand,” he added.
The event on Thursday started off with a seminar on “How To Franchise Your Own Business” followed by a two-day expo, where 35 brands, ranging from food to retail and services, join as exhibitors. Among them are leading retail sector exhibitors 7-Eleven, Aquabest, Crystal Clear, Diana Stalder, Living Water and SOS.
Representing the service sector are Bayad Center, Canadian Tourism and Hospitality Institute, Laundrybest, Phoenix Petroleum, Quickclean, Rapide and Xcess Salon.
Coinciding with the expo are “How to Invest in the Right Franchise” seminars for aspiring franchisees.
Sam Christopher Lim, president of U-Franchise and one of the speakers said, “Franchising is about replicating success and it is about time to develop local entrepreneurs not only for the national level but for the international stage.”
The event is organized in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry Regional Office 10 (DTI-10), DTI Misamis Oriental, Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the City Government of Cagayan de Oro. (PNA)
