PH Consulate General in San Francisco Hosts Franchising Seminar

Philippine Deputy Consul General to San Francisco Raquel R. Solano (leftmost) delivers her remarks on the Seminar on Franchise Investment Opportunities in the Philippines, on 14 November 2019, at the Kalayaan Hall of the Philippine Center. (San Francisco PCG photo)

SAN FRANCISCO 20 December 2019 — The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco hosted a Seminar on Franchise Investment Opportunities in the Philippines at the Kalayaan Hall of the Philippine Center on 14 November 2019. 

The seminar was conducted in coordination with the Philippine Trade and Investment Center-Silicon Valley and the Philippine Franchise Association (PFA), which is the latest Spark*Connect*Empower (SCE) partner, having signed the Partnership Agreement earlier that day.

The event was attended by members of the Filipino-American community in San Francisco, many of whom expressed interest in being either franchisers or franchisees.

In her welcome remarks, Philippine Deputy Consul General to San Francisco Raquel R. Solano noted the tremendous growth of successful franchises in the Philippines. She cited the success of The Potato Corner, which started out as a small kiosk in 1992, but has now grown internationally through franchising. Notably, Philippine franchises have now also acquired international brands, citing the success of Jollibee, which acquired The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf earlier this year. She expressed hope that through franchising, Filipino Americans could have that spark to take interest in Filipino brands, be connected, and be empowered to invest by being franchisees, thereby creating employment opportunities for their communities.

The main speaker was PFA Vice Chairman Alegria Bing Sibal-Limjoco.  Sibal-Limjoco encouraged the attendees to consider franchising as an investment opportunity as it offered an already successful business model for prospective entrepreneurs to replicate. She added that PFA offers assistance to both franchisers and franchisees in setting up their businesses.

Owner of “Banapple” GJ Jimenez, shared his testimony on his restaurant’s success in franchising. Having started out as a small café in Quezon City, Banapple has now grown to more than 20 kiosks and full-service restaurants, with a number of branches that are franchised. While his business initially grew with his own branches, he recently agreed to franchise, resulting in Banapple expanding to various parts of the Philippines.

Interested members of the public who are interested in franchising opportunities may wish to get in touch with the Philippine Trade and Investment Center – Silicon Valley at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. END

Vice Chairman of the Philippine Franchise Association Alegria Bing Sibal-Limjoco, delivers her presentation at the Seminar on Franchise Investment Opportunities in the Philippines, on 14 November 2019, at the Kalayaan Hall of the Philippine Center. (San Franciso PCG photo)

Owner of Banapple GJ Jimenez, shares his testimonial on franchising, at the Seminar on Franchise Investment Opportunities in the Philippines, on 14 November 2019, at the Kalayaan Hall of the Philippine Center. (San Francisco PCG photo)

For more information, visit https://www.sanfranciscopcg.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.philippinessanfrancisco.org or https://www.facebook.com/PHinSF/.