AFFI holds ‘HAFFI Hour,’ reveals upcoming plans and events

The Association of Filipino Franchisers, Inc. (AFFI) recently held its “HAFFI Hour: A Synergy Night of Partners and Members” to foster camaraderie, unity and more importantly, and engage in business networking and friendship.

Held at the swanky 8 Rockwell at the Rockwell Center in Makati City, the AFFI Board of Directors led by AFFI President Marie Joyce Co Yu, who is also President and CEO of Trueblends Tea & Coffee, encouraged the members to engage in active talk with other attendees. “With HAFFI Hour, we can all widen our business horizons by connecting with other entrepreneurs. I do hope you brought lots of business cards,” Yu stated, which elicited laughter among the audience.

She also invited AFFI members and even non-members to all the exciting AFFI events in the pipeline. She mentioned the regular “PresidenTEA (Thought, Exchange Activity)” and was excited with the 1st AFFI-nity Franchise and Business Summit happening on September at the Blue Leaf Filipinas in Aseana City, Parañaque City. There will also be another blood-letting activity happening on October 2018 at the Ali Mall in Cubao, Quezon City, which is part of the advocacy of #AFFICares to help save lives through donations of free and safe blood. This is spearheaded by AFFI in partnership with Quezon City District 3 Councilor Allan Reyes and the Dugong Alay, Dugtong Buhay Foundation.

Top Franchisers celebrate “HAFFI Hour”—The country’s biggest association of Filipino franchisers, the Association of Filipino Franchisers, Inc. (AFFI) gathered during its “HAFFI Hour” at 8 Rockwell in Makati City. The event was an opportunity for local franchisers to bond and form stronger friendships with each other while trying to improve their respective businesses through networking. Gracing the event as special guest speakers were Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon “Mon” Lopez (4th and 5th from left, respectively). They are shown together with AFFI’s current President, Marie Joyce Co Yu (4th from right) and the AFFI Board of Directors 2018 that include (from left) Paul Andrew Tan, AFFI Vice President for PR & Marketing; Enrique Pablo Caeg, AFFI Chairman; Jose Carlos Martinez, AFFI Vice President for Education; Edgardo Paras, AFFI Auditor; Jorge Noel Wieneke III, AFFI Vice President for Membership; and Willen Ma, AFFI Treasurer. Members of the AFFI Board not in photo are AFFI Executive Vice President Byron Lim Cheung and Jelyn Chung, AFFI Corporate Secretary.

However, what Yu is most excited about is the AFFI Franchise and Business Expo, which will be held early next year, and carries the theme “Galing ng Pinoy.” “It will be the first major event for 2019 for the franchising industry. This will be a new strategy for AFFI as we regularly hold our expo during the second half of the year. But of course, the objective of the expo is still the same, which is to engage everyone to go into franchising,” Yu said.

Meanwhile, Jose Carlos “JC” Martinez, AFFI Vice President for Education, reported updates about AFFI. The AFFI membership now stands at 180 members from the initial seven, with 64 percent in the food industry, 22 percent for services, 13 percent for retail, and 1 percent for the others. The 180 brands, Martinez said, have about 32,000 stores, with the ratio of franchisors to franchisees standing at 1:30. “We have some big players here, with franchisees reaching 400, or 700. With 32,000 stores, we employ around 120,000 employees, which makes us among the biggest providers of employment for our fellow Filipinos.”

Among the HAFFI Hour highlights include the inspirational speeches delivered by special guests led by Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar, who lauded the AFFI and its members’ contributions to national economic growth, and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon “Mon” Lopez.

In his special address to AFFI members, Lopez noted its advocacy of entrepreneurship and for being inspiring entrepreneurship models. “There is an entrepreneurship revolution in the country because of your success stories, from humble beginnings to successful business models. Thank you for sharing your learnings and experiences to others to help improve lives.”

He also thanked AFFI for providing legitimate employment to unemployed Filipinos and reiterated the government’s desire to help make the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) remain competitive, operationally efficient and effective in serving consumers through various tax incentives to make businesses grow and help create more jobs. He also focused on the benefits of the expanded Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act or “TRAIN 2.” “It is actually the franchisers’ group that will be among those who will benefit because the income tax rate will go down from 30 percent to about 25 percent. So, in general, it will be the more than 90 percent of entrepreneurs who will benefit from the lower tax rates because the objective of TRAIN 2 is to level the business playing field,” Sec. Lopez emphasized.

For his part, Enrique Pablo “Eric” Caeg, AFFI Chairman, thanked Sec. Andanar and Sec. Lopez for gracing HAFFI Hour. “We appreciate and truly value their support to programs and activities that will ultimately benefit entrepreneurs like us, particularly the benefits espoused by TRAIN 2 for MSMEs. Their continued support to AFFI and its members was expressed solidly by their presence tonight.”

For more about the Association of Filipino Franchisers, Inc. and how they empower entrepreneurs, visit their website, https://affi.com.ph or follow them on Facebook, www.facebook.com/affiempoweringentrepreneurs, or Twitter (@AEntreps).

For those interested in franchising, feel free to drop by at the AFFI Center, located at Unit 406, A.N.Y. Building, #38 Timog Avenue, Brgy. Laging Handa, Quezon City. Call the AFFI landlines at (02) 746-3237, (02) 957-8486 and (02) 504-3693, or through mobile at 0949-8890758, 0917-5182334 or 0917-5199837. You can also email AFFI at [email protected] or [email protected].

ADVT