THE Department of Trade and Industry, through the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Los Angeles, conducted a franchising seminar on November 16 with the Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) and the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles. The event was attended by 40 participants composed of the Filipino-American community, businessmen and media.
Bing Sibal-Limjoco, vice chairman of PFA and CEO of Francorp Philippines, gave an overview of Philippine franchising and discussed the trends, opportunities and advantages of franchising.
Franchising is one of the platforms for fostering the culture of entrepreneurship in the Philippines and one of the ways to support the government’s official policy on micro, small and medium enterprises. The PFA has seen the benefits of offering franchising as a strategy to grow one’s business and for those interested in doing business through franchising. It is notable that Philippine brands have, likewise, established their operations in foreign markets, such as the United States.
Apart from prominent Philippine franchise brands, franchise start-ups, such as Belgian Waffle have started to penetrate the US market with its first franchise store opening in San Diego, California, USA.