Cebu a healthy market for new ventures: PFA

BELIEVING that Cebu can be a hotbed for franchising, the Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) pledged to bring more of their programs here.

“Our aim is to bring our entrepreneurs to the next level and encourage them to consider expanding their businesses overseas. One way to do this is to capacitate them,” said PFA director Yvette Orbeta in a press conference.

PFA, she said, has been conducting regular information sessions for member-franchisors but these are more concentrated in Manila. She said that like the government’s thrust to decentralize, the association will replicate their programs in other regions in the country.

One program that they plan to conduct in Cebu before the year ends is on digital marketing.

PFA president Richard Sanz said they want their members to capitalize and be ahead in embracing digital transformation. Sanz admitted, though, that there will be challenges in the adoption but as soon as concerns are addressed, the organization would spearhead the shift to a cashless society, among others.

Sanz earlier mentioned the lack of an integrated system that could accept transactions regardless of which platform retailers are enrolled in as a big problem in the Philippines.

Opportunities rising

Orbeta said that they also plan to bring to Cebu PFA Manila’s Kapihan for their members to share best practices of their businesses. She said it is crucial for entrepreneurs in this competitive landscape to learn how their fellow entrepreneurs are coping.

“We are doing all these efforts here because Cebu is a thriving market for new businesses,” she said.

“We also aim to support the growth of our micro entrepreneurs for them to become small and eventually become medium or big business players,” added Sanz.

The franchising industry aims to grow between 10 and 15 percent this year. Franchising contributed five percent to the country’s gross domestic product in 2015.

PCCI president Ma. Alegria “Bing” Sibal-Limjoco is appealing to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to prepare for opportunities as a result of the government’s infrastructure program. “This golden age of infrastructure is also a golden age of MSMEs,” said Limjoco, who is also PFA chairperson. (KOC)

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