ENTREPRENEURS ADVISED TO GRAB FRANCHISE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES - PERNAS

SANDAKAN, Nov 13  -- Entrepreneurs in the country, especially small and medium entrepreneurs and those who have been affected by the various phases of the Movement Control Order (MCO) since March last year, should seize opportunities in the growing franchise business.

Perbadanan Nasional Bhd (Pernas) chairman Datuk Zakaria Mohd Edris said the country's franchise industry has been growing since 2016 and is able to improve the economy of entrepreneurs who venture into the business.

“The potential of the franchise industry is huge as we can see this industry showing positive development from year to year.

"According to the Franchise Business Annual Report, the sales value of RM8.66 billion in 2016 has jumped to RM13.3 billion in 2019," he told reporters after officiating at the Pernas BizFranchise Program here today.

Also present was Pernas chief executive officer Mohd Hilaluddin Abd Sukor.

Zakaria also said Pernas was ready to assist entrepreneurs who were interested in venturing into the franchise business and had approved RM7.7 million in funding following the organisation of the BizFranchise programme in eight locations nationwide since it was launched in 2019.

Meanwhile, for the programme in Sandakan, he said Pernas was targeting a potential funding of RM2.97 million.

Zakaria, who is also Libaran Member of Parliament, also asked the Sandakan Municipal Council (MPS) to draft a working paper for him to raise in the Pernas board meeting on the proposal to create another corridor in Sabah based in Sandakan.

"Sabah is a very large state compared to other states in the peninsula and needs another Pernas corridor so that the people in this state have the opportunity to experience the services and benefits of Pernas

"The existing Pernas office in Kota Kinabalu can play a role in the west coast of Sabah, while the office in Sandakan, if realised, will regulate services on the east coast of the state," he said.

Earlier in her speech, MPS deputy president Faridah Giau said the MPS still needed bodies like Pernas to help develop entrepreneurs in Sandakan.

At the BizFranchise program, various activities were organised, including knowledge sharing sessions for franchise entrepreneurs, briefings from Pernas MPS and the Social Security Organisation (Socso) as well as business clinics with franchise brands, pre-franchisees and brands under the Business in Transformation (BIT) programme under Pernas’ supervision for small entrepreneurs.

The BizFranchise programme also features 21 franchise and pre-franchise brands, including Marrybrown, Gloria Jean's Coffee, Polperro, Lesong Mart and Mok Corner.

-- BERNAMA