PFA joins Cebu Business Month with a three-day franchise exhibit


To push local brands to a wider market, the Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) holds a three-day franchise exhibit from June 18 to 20 – one of the highlights of the Cebu Business Month Summit 2018.

PFA president Richard Sanz, in a press conference at the Golden Prince Hotel and Suites in Cebu City, said the three-day franchise expo will include a seminar on “How to Franchise your Business” and exhibits of the participating brands on days two and three. The seminar was ongoing at the Golden Prince Hotel and Suites as of this posting, while the franchise exhibit will be at the Waterfront Hotel in Lahug, Cebu City on June 19 and 20.

“More international brands are coming to the Philippines, but we also want the local brands to expand. We encourage our PFA members to expand globally,” said Sanz in today’s press conference.

The PFA, for its part, he said, supports local micro, small, medium enterprises (MSME) – which is also one of the main thrusts of the Duterte administration.

“We are confident that just as in our past franchise exhibits in Cebu, we will open opportunities for fellow Filipinos to realize their dream of becoming their own boss through franchising,” he said, adding that more businesses will also mean more jobs for the Filipinos.

Also during the two-day exhibits, there will be seminars on how to invest in the right franchise to educate the would-be entrepreneurs on how to run their future business.

Bing Sibal Limjoco, PFA’s vice chair, said the country has over 1,500 local brands, 70 percent of them are homegrown – a far cry from the 50 local names in 1975, which were owned mostly by foreigners. She said these brands can compete globally given more push in the international scene.

In July, “the biggest show in Asia” through Franchise Asia will happen at the SMX Convention Center in Manila, said Christopher Lim, PFA’s director for Special Projects.

Franchise Asia, which is slated on July 18 to 22, will showcase over 700 homegrown and international brands in the food, retail and service sectors. There will also be seminars by powerhouse speakers from all over the world.

“The goal here is to have more Filipino brands to expand globally,” said Lim.

Yvette Pardo Orbeta, director for Education Research Information of PFA, said there are 18 to 20 local brands which are working on carving a niche in the USA.

“We help medium and large members to be able to open abroad, but more importantly we help MSMEs to expand. This is why we have seminars on food safety, taxation updates, customer loyalty and digital marketing here,” Orbeta said.

“With PFA, we want the Philippines to become the franchising hub of Asia,” said Limjoco.


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