Franchising Middle East set to go annual

The three-day exhibition held by Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for Young Business leader and organized by International Expo-consults (IEC), attracted a visitor turnout of more than 5000 industry professionals from 47 countries.

The CEO of Mohammed bin Rashid Establishment for Young Business Leaders, Abdul Baset Al Janahi said, "The Franchise Exhibition has elicited tremendous response from investors in the region as franchising is an important source of new business opportunities."

"Our plan is to make UAE the franchise hub of the Middle East. We believe there is tremendous opportunity for franchisers interested in expanding to the UAE and other Gulf countries. The Establishment is here to aid them in the various aspects of their expansion efforts, and through initiatives like this the Mohammed bin Rashid Establishment for Young Business Leaders will further help encourage and facilitate the development of local businesses and entrepreneurial activity in the country." Added Abdul Baset Al Janahi.

"The attendance surpassed even our own most optimistic forecasts," said Mohammed Falaknaz, Vice President, International Expo-Consults. "To have such a wide diversity of quality visitor really bodes well for the industry and the future of this event.

"What was especially pleasing was that 8% of the visitors came from the massive market of Saudi Arabia, 5% came from Kuwait and over 58% were from the local UAE market."

The show, which featured 53 exhibitors from 18 nations covering 18 business sectors, was endorsed by the International Franchise Association (IFA).

"Having such prominent backing and support from these associations was a real indication of how important the market, and a show like this, is to the region," said Falaknaz.

And after a hectic three-days, almost 80% of exhibitors said they would be back at the show in 2005.

The show was a window to the future of the regional industry with international players saying the Middle East's franchising market was one of the fastest growing sectors worldwide at 27% annually.

"The region's franchise market is expanding at an exponential rate and this exhibition provided a solid platform for people to realise that," said Thomas L. Webber, Consultant for Franchise & Training Development, ReMax Arabia. "Whilst at the show, we signed an agreement to open an office in Jeddah; the first of its kind in the region, as well as signing a master franchise agreement with a Lebanese businessman. "In addition, we had a businessman fly in from the US to open up a ReMax satellite centre here in the Middle East."

The lure of Middle Eastern potential was worldwide with exhibitors coming from as far as Malaysia in the East and Canada in the West. "We came from Canada on a chance as we knew the Middle Eastern market was so up and coming," said Jason Kikot, Customer Support, Vendmex. "The response we have had has been phenomenal and has prompted us to return next year, with larger and more diverse business plans, in the hope of establishing ourselves in 15 separate markets throughout the region."

Franchising Middle East 2004, which ran in February, also featured a Malaysian pavilion, the organisers of which were enthralled at the response - receiving 995 enquiries with total sales under negotiation being put at US $4.74 million.

"Our franchise-friendly government has played an active role in providing a conducive environment for entrepreneurs to venture into the franchise business. And vice-versa, opportunities should also be sought in other countries", said Datuk Adzmi Abdul Wahab, Chairman of the Malaysian Franchise Association. "The Middle East is proving to be a lush landscape for us".

Education was also a strong aspect of the exhibition with seminars, chaired by Michael Jowett, President and CEO of Focus Hospitality, and Marcel Portman, IFA's Vice President of Emerging Markets and Global Development, running throughout the show.

"With the market growing so rapidly, we must ensure that the people understand franchising concepts and know how to formulate viable business plans," said Portman. "It is crucially important that people grow with the market and do not get left behind."

As a result, Marcel Portman said the IFA would work closely with Middle East governments and industry bodies, such as the Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for Young Business Leaders and the UAE Franchise Association, to encourage national entrepreneurs to start their own business.

The desire to educate the market was also very prominent with the exhibitors, some of which had solely come to offer local entrepreneurs a platform from which to better understand the concepts involved.

"The indigenous franchiser is extremely important to the region and more locals need to assimilate themselves with this," said Sary M. Hamway, Senior Vice President, Franchise Development Services. "We are actively involved in the development of home grown franchising and we fully support the work of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for Young Business Leaders.

"At present, there are still only a few local franchisers with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman leading the way. With the right encouragement we can expect to see over a 100 new franchises developing across the region in as little as the next three years."

Bahrain based, Baisan Institute of Hospitality Management (BIHM), came to the exhibition to create awareness about its courses. "We are the first institute in the region to offer a franchising hospitality education," said Qutub Dadabhai, BIHM's Managing Director. "We believe that this is an important step in the right direction for local businessman to compete within the market."

The visitor response to the inaugural show was positive with many enthusiastic about what the show could do for the region. "I wanted to see what franchising opportunities were available and the diversity was promising," said Raj Kapadia, Franchise Consultant, UAE. "I was glad to see that there was an emphasis on promoting local franchising and this, coupled with the seminars, made for a very promising future for the Middle Eastern franchise market."

R. Buuliter, Eco Holdings, Australia was also impressed with what was on offer at the show. "It was a one stop shop for people like me, who are always looking for new business ventures for my clients."

IEC believes that the show can only go from strength to strength. "Considering that over $1 billion was invested in the franchise market last year, the need for a larger and more diverse franchising show is inevitable," said Falaknaz. "Now people know what to expect, we are confident that next year's event will reflect the rapid growth taking place in the franchise sector.'