Mohammed Bin Rashid Est. for Young Business Leaders to raise awareness on franchising at FME 2007

Presented by the Establishment, the exhibition will take place from 5-7 March at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre.

A highlight of the event will be a keynote address by Arthur Carmazzi, President and Founder of "Directive Communication International Entrepreneurship", which will include a presentation on "The Five Pillars of Success".

Arthur F. Carmazzi has more than 21 years experience specializing in psychological approaches to workforce enhancement and corporate culture transformation. He is the best selling co-author of "The 6 Dimensions of Top Achievers", and author of "Identity Intelligence" and "Lessons from the Monkey King".

Abdul Baset Al Janahi, CEO of Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for Young Business Leaders said: "The Establishment is keen on educating the small to medium business community on the value they can harvest from franchising operations. We have invited renowned speakers who will share their diverse perspectives on this aspect of the business. We are confident the seminar will raise entrepreneurs' awareness on the franchising concept."

The agenda will also include key speeches by Ramon Vinay, President of Francorp International on "How to effectively franchise your business". Sandeep Bose, Head of SME Banking Middle East and South Asia, Standard Chartered Bank will elaborate on financial institutions' methodology in evaluating SME funding applications and risk management.

A series of interactive sessions will focus on various legal aspects of franchising, including the mechanism of registering a franchise contract in the Middle East, and the protection and licensing of Intellectual Property in the franchising context.

Discussions will also tackle the growth of SMEs through franchising, the role of government organizations in promoting small business enterprises, development and marketing of home-grown franchises. The needs of small business owners will also be explored as part of the agenda.

Other topics that will be highlighted during the two-day seminar will include expansion strategies for better profits, corporate image development, leadership intelligence, effective corporate communication and public relations strategies, sourcing and securing the best location for franchise business.