The Founder of the Best Franchisee of the World (BFW), said there were serious plans to organize the next BFW Awards in Bahrain next year. “I am pleased to see Bahrain take its first steps towards growing and expanding in the world of franchising and hope to plan and organize the next BFW Awards in partnership with Quick Media Solutions in Bahrain next year,” Manuel Vescovi said.
“Next year, we want to organize the world final in Madrid, while currently, we have serious plans for Bahrain. The number of franchisors in the world is about 30,000, while the number of franchise events is only 1,500. The number of Franchisees worldwide is about 1,200,000; however, what is the number of franchisee events in the world? None. This is the reason why the Best Franchisee of the World (BFW) was created in 2010,” he said at the first ‘Bahrain Franchise Awards’ ceremony that concluded “Bahrain Franchise & Dine Expo 2017”.
The first expo of its kind in Bahrain was held under the patronage of Shaikh Hisham bin Abdul-Rahman Al-Khalifa, Governor of the Capital under the theme ‘Expand Your Global Footprints in the Middle East Market’. Participants and organizers held the “tremendous success” of the expo supported by Tamkeen as the strategic partner.
The expo was attended by regional and international partners and experts in the franchise and dine business, more than 50 exhibitors, more than 100 brands from more than 20 countries, organizers said.
It featured a diverse group of exhibitors, mainly in the food and dining, retail, IT and other different exhibitors, and the strong presence and participation of International consultancy companies in the area of franchising.
Ibrahim M. Janahi, Chief Executive, Tamkeen, said that “Tamkeen, as the strategic partner of the Expo, is always keen to support Bahrain enterprises by networking and envisioning development and growth opportunities in the franchising business, which have been clearly highlighted during the different presentations and workshops of the Expo.”
“Currently, Tamkeen, offers a wide range of Enterprise Schemes that were introduced to support Bahraini entrepreneurs and international enterprises existing and working in the Bahraini market. This support will apparently, pave the way for business growth and diversification of local enterprises to eventually take its place in the franchise market. The franchise business is a growing business in the MENA region and the world, offering great business opportunities that Bahrain enterprises can benefit from, be part of and work constantly towards developing and expanding their businesses to access new markets.”
The winners of the First Bahrain Franchise Awards 2017 were Talabat– Best Service Provider Bahrain, Bunkers GCC– Best Bahrain Homegrown Brand, Inventors Hive– Best Emerging Education Brand, Komandor Middle East– Best Bahrain Retail Brand, Pasta Express-Best Bahrain Franchisee and last but not least, Young Trader- Best Emerging Entrepreneur Award. The award was concluded with a group picture of the awardees and organizers.
Dr. Khalid Al-Sharafa, Founder & Chairman of MENAFA, Co-organiser of the expo confirmed that the expo as a whole was very successful. “We would like to thank Shaikh Hisham bin Abdul-Rahman Al Khalifa, Governor of the Capital for patronizing this event. We would also like to express our pride in hosting such a significant event with the support and collaboration of related government entities and international franchising experts,” he said.
“We were pleased to see the Saudi SMEs Authority and other Saudi enterprises and consultancy companies take an active role in presenting the status of Franchising in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which seems to be picking up very fast. We heard a great deal about the strategy, plans and efforts of the Saudi government in regulating the franchising business in Saudi and the laws and regulations that are being developed and approved for that matter, which are considered very promising steps.”
The conference and exhibition have recorded a healthy number of participants and visitors; local and from the GCC and beyond, he added.