Franchise sector continues to generate jobs for Pinoys

MANILA, Philippines - The franchise industry continues to support economic growth through jobs creation.

Samie Lim, chairman emeritus of Philippine Franchise Association (PFA), noted that the industry has created thousands of small businesses and millions of jobs in recent years.

Lim revealed the industry has produced 134,000 franchise outlets and created 1.2 million jobs in the Philippines as of last year.

The Philippine franchise sector is currently composed of more than 1,500 franchise concepts, 70 percent of which are local brands.

Lim emphasized that the industry has long been supporting the growth of the services sector, which is currently the biggest contributor to the Philippine economic expansion.

“We made the services sector number one in terms of contribution to the Philippine economy,” Lim said in an interview last week.

Food and services concepts continue to propel the growth of the franchising industry.

PFA President Alan Escalona also said the industry has seen an annual growth rate of 10 to 12 percent.

Officials said the industry will continue to see sustained growth in terms of revenue and number of franchises as domestic consumption remains robust.

Lim also added that more than 20 franchise brands from Cebu have been able to expand nationally and in fact, some like Penshoppe have also penetrated the international markets.

Meanwhile, officials announced the Franchise Asia Philippines 2016 is happening on July 20-24 at SMX Convention Center in Manila.

PFA is a self-regulating government body for Philippine franchising with small and big member enterprises, both local and international, involved in services, retail and food, among others. — (FREEMAN)