Virtual confab aims to ignite recovery of Philippine franchising

CEBU, Philippines — More than 30 international and local experts are leading the push for recovery of the Philippine franchise sector.

“We fully believe that the Philippine franchising sector is still headed to more opportunities,” said Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) Chairman Richard V. Sanz as he announced the opening of the three-day Franchise Asia Philippines (FAPHL) 2021 Virtual Conference slated on September 21 to 23, 2021.

The participating franchisors, along with industry experts, will present fresh ideas that will help the local franchising industry rise from the lingering effects of the pandemic.

Aptly themed “Igniting Recovery: The Future of Franchising”, the Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) seeks to spark the passion and drive of the Philippine franchising sector rather than merely wait on the sidelines and let the pandemic deal more crippling blows to the industry.

“We put together more than 30 of the most sought-after industry experts and renowned leaders who will be featured in over 20 highly dynamic and curated sessions compressed in three full days from September 21 to 23,"Sanz noted.

PFA President Sherill R. Quintana said the PFA leadership decided to adapt to the situation and find ways to serve the members, opting not to cower in fear and merely wait for “normalcy“.

“We added new and exciting session formats to make sure the FAPHL 2021 Virtual Conference will unravel the roadblocks and complexities of the unending disruptions in the business landscape.  Through empowering contents and thought-provoking discussions, the virtual conference will be able to unlock opportunities and provide exceptional learnings," Quintana stressed.

The Virtual Conference sessions and topics are specially curated to help in the creation of a roadmap for the future of the Philippine franchising sector.

The keynote presentations will be spearheaded by Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez and Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat. These government leaders are expected to discuss relevant and timely contents about the future of business, economy, industry updates that could help everyone in this world of disruption.

The plenary sessions will feature the most influential speakers and renowned leaders such as Al Panlilio of the PLDT Group, Jos Ortega of Havas Ortega and International Speakers from Canada and USA - Matthew Haller from International Franchise Association (IFA USA), Brad Sugars from ActionCOACH (USA), Robert Locascio from LivePerson (USA), Dr. Ben Litalien, CFE from Franchise Well Consulting (USA), Dr. Rajagopal Raghunathan the Author of the Award Winning Book "If you're So Smart, Why Aren't you Happy" and Ira Bernard Teich of The Teich  Group (Canada).

The Franchisee Panel Sessions will showcase successful franchisors Michael Liew from MarryBrown (Malaysia), Minodh De Sylva from Island Tea Company (Philippines) and Ernie Koh from Commune Lifestyle Pte Ltd, (Singapore) and franchisees Cynthia A. Aliño of 7-Eleven, Jess Nicdao of Jollibee, Chowking and Mang Inasal and Joana Marie De Jesus Valeriano of Nails Dot Glow where they will share and discuss their unique experiences, practical insights and strategies on how they sail through these trying times, bounce back, and ignite resiliency towards future growth.

Meanwhile, the C-Suite Forum is the newest and the most exciting session that the Virtual Conference is offering.

According to Sanz, the C-Suit session is specially designed to tackle area-focused tracks about important business operations happening in concurrent breakout sessions. This is the first time that PFA will be doing this.

Participants will be able to meet and exchange insights with renowned C-level industry experts who will share their thought-leadership, strategies and best practices.