BE THE BOSS AT FRANCHISE ASIA PHILIPPINES 2018

All is set for Franchise Asia Philippines 2018 (FAPHL 2018) scheduled on July 18 to 22 at the SMX Convention Center, Manila.

Organized by the Philippine Franchise Association (PFA), Franchise Asia Philippines 2018 has put the Philippines in the global map of franchising as it has grown to be the biggest four-in-one franchise event show in Asia today. The said event will showcase the following highlights:

• A two-day international conference that will present global best practices and business solutions by renowned experts (July 18 to 19);

• A three-day international expo that is a one-stop shop for franchise and other investment opportunities from homegrown and foreign concepts (July 20 to 22);

• Educational seminars to help aspiring franchisees invest on the right franchise and potential franchisors transform their businesses into successful franchises (July 20 to 22);

• A two-day Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) Program to help professionalize the Philippine franchise sector and help sustain efforts in raising the global competitiveness of Philippine franchising (July 16 to 17);

“With the theme ‘Be the Boss’, this year’s show evokes the capacity of franchising to create hundreds of businesses and to generate thousands of jobs,” said PFA president Richard Sanz. “We have been holding this event for over two decades and Franchise Asia Philippines has proven itself to be a successful platform in realizing PFA’s mission to promote franchising as a tool to create businesses and generate jobs,” Sanz added.

Aside from this, Sanz also said that franchising has helped entrepreneurs grow their business from one to many in various locations noting that it has also been an effective tool in raising the global competitiveness of Philippine businesses even helping SMEs expand overseas.

Sanz highlighted that visitors to this event can fully explore and understand the benefits of being in business for yourself, but not by yourself.

Meanwhile, FAPHL 2018 overall chair Sam Christopher Lim, who is also PFA director for ASEAN/special projects, cited various reasons for visiting this year’s show. “Franchise Asia remains

the flagship capacity-building activity for the Philippine franchising sector,” he said as he enumerated the highlights of the said event.

“The international conference will be on July 18 to 19 and will feature six plenary sessions, 14 breakout sessions and over 20 roundtable discussions by more than 50 foreign and local speakers and subject matter experts,” Lim noted. Among the topics are The Future of Retail, Best Practices of Global Franchise Brands, Effective, Efficient and Ethical Site Selection, Digital Marketing Innovations, Best Practices and Current Trends in the Halal Industry and many more.

“While the said conference is the flagship capacity-building activity of PFA for the Philippine franchising sector,” conference chair Alice Liu clarified. “The said event is designed not only for the sector but for all businesses that want to remain relevant in today’s disruptive business environment.”

Keynoting the conference is no less than Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez.

Rounding the weeklong lineup of activities is the three-day international expo from July 20 to 22, which will feature over 700 franchise brands and other business opportunities from homegrown and international exhibitors. Expo chairperson Rebecca Bucad declared, “We have made a conscious effort to expand our expo in response to the enduring interest among Filipinos to start a business via franchising.”

Interestingly, more than 35 percent of this year’s exhibitors are first-time exhibitors, which means that there are new opportunities worth exploring in our show. “We are also proud that Franchise Asia Philippines continues to be a magnet for international brands that want to expand here,” said Siu Ping Par, expo cochairperson. “This year, our expo will showcase over 200 international franchise brands.”

Entrance to the expo is free for those who register online.

Now on its 26th edition, Franchise Asia Philippines 2018 has grown bigger than ever as PFA continues to promote franchising as a tool to create businesses and generate jobs as well as position franchising as a catalyst in the internationalization of Philippine franchise brands. Sanz concluded, “Through the years, PFA has always endeavored to present a show that is overflowing with possibilities and opportunities in response to the sustained interest among Filipinos to become entrepreneurs via franchising by investing in homegrown or foreign franchise brands.“

Franchise Asia Philippines 2018 is co-presented by PLDT Enterprise and the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and is organized in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the Philippine Retailers Association (PRA), the World Franchise Council (WFC), the Asia Pacific Franchise Confederation (APFC) and Go Negosyo. For more details about Franchise Asia Philippines 2018, visit www.franchiseasiaph.com.