PFA sees potential for agriculture franchising

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) is seeing potential in the agriculture industry as the next sector for franchising.

“I think agriculture franchising will be the next big thing,” PFA president Sam Christopher Lim told reporters on the sidelines of the Franchise Asia Philippines International Conference yesterday.

“We really want to support the agricultural franchising whether it’s our retailers of agriculture or those that service farms,” he said.

Lim said currently there are very few agriculture-related franchises, representing only below one percent of the total franchises in the country.

However, he shared that there are a lot of new agricultural franchises coming out citing one offering agri drones in Davao, and another one offering feeds for pigs.

Lim said they hope to help micro and small enterprises scale them up through franchising.

“We want to look for more of them that want to scale up,”he said.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re micro or small, as long as you have a good business model, you can generate profits,” Lim said.

Apart from the agriculture sector, Lim shared that a lot of healthcare franchises are also starting to rise such as dialysis centers or diagnostic clinics as well as pharmacies.

He shared that the food sector remains the top driver of the franchise industry’s growth.

Lim said the PFA still projects the country’s franchising industry to grow by 12 percent to 15 percent this year in terms of revenue.

In March, the PFA said the growth of the industry would be driven by the international expansion of more local brands.

The PFA said earlier that it aims to double the number of Philippine franchise brands that have expanded globally to 50.

The PFA opened the Franchise Asia Philippines International Conference at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

Franchise Asia Philippines is the country’s main capacity-building activity for the sector and will be highlighted by four major components particularly the International Conference, the one-stop shop International Franchise Expo seminars, and a two-day Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) program.

Apart from the International Conference, the International Franchise Expo will be held on Oct. 27-29 at the same venue.

The Franchise Asia 2023 Expo will be PFA’s biggest and grandest so far as it occupies the entire SMX Convention Center Manila and will showcase about 1,000 brands – both homegrown and foreign.

Franchise Asia Philippines Expo has always been regarded as a launchpad for the national and global expansion of franchise brands. It also continues to attract foreign exhibitors and has been an effective instrument in promoting the Philippines as an investment destination.

Moreover, in line with PFA’s advocacy to promote MSME development, this year’s Expo also features special zones for emerging franchises and highly franchiseable concepts as well as DTI supported micro and small enterprises. It is also the place to be for entrepreneurs looking for business solutions and service providers.

The PFA will host the twin meetings of the World Franchise Counsel (WFC) and Asia Pacific Franchise Confederation (APFC).

The WFC and APFC meetings in Manila in October 2023 will gather the leaders of the world’s franchise associations and is an opportunity for us to learn more about potential overseas markets for Philippine franchises.