The World Franchise Forum and the Moscow Franchise Expo 2018 officially opened in Pavilion 5 at the Expocentre on Krasnaya Presnya on Wednesday, 30 May. The events were organized by the Russian Franchise Association (RAF) with the support of the Roscongress Foundation, the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Government of Moscow and are being held under the aegis of the first Moscow Entrepreneurship Week. International guests attending the Forum included representatives of more than 30 countries as well as 70 heads and leaders of international associations representing five continents.
Speakers at the opening ceremony included Secretary of State — Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Viktor Yevtukhov, CEO of the Russian Export Centre (REC) Andrey Slepnev, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, Industry, Innovative Development and Entrepreneurship Denis Kravchenko, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Ulyanovsk Region Dmitry Bogdanov, President of the Russian Franchise Association Agnessa Osipova, General Director of INVITRO Independent Laboratory Alexander Ostrovsky, Executive Director of the Egyptian Franchise Development Association (EFDA) Hatem Zaki, Vice President of the International Franchise Association Josh Merin, and Official Delegate from the Asia-Pacific Franchise Confederation Samson «Samie» Lim.
«Regional representatives of small business can familiarize themselves with projects from Moscow and maybe learn something new. At the same time, franchises from Moscow and across the country are in need of new ideas, which we hope to see at the event. It is my hope that the Forum and the exhibition will be fruitful and will help to increase business,» Viktor Yevtukhov said, adding that the many foreign guests visiting the Forum can also enjoy the beauty of Moscow and use their free time for sightseeing.
Members of the RAF and Russian franchise brands will be widely represented at the Moscow Franchise Expo 2018. Businessmen from Brazil, China, India, Mexico, the United States, and South Africa among others will present their unique concepts to the Russian business community. Franchises in Russia and CIS countries, international franchising (companies that are members of the World Franchise Council), automated solutions, vending, and new technologies (equipment, solutions, services, and products for franchising and the consumer market) are the main themes of the World Franchise Expo.
«We are very pleased to see such a large number of representatives from a variety of companies in one place, both in terms of the industry and the scale of franchises. The Russian Franchise Association hopes that the successful case stories that will be demonstrated during the Moscow Franchise Expo 2018 will help start-up entrepreneurs to believe in their strength and those who are only thinking about starting a business to take a decisive step in this direction. Experienced representatives of small and medium-sized businesses will also be interested in learning about examples from international practice and gaining the opportunity to enter new markets,» RAF President Agnessa Osipova said. The President of the Russian Franchise Association also thanked the Roscongress Foundation for its cooperation and assistance in preparing the project.
Russian and foreign brands operating within the franchise system in different sectors of the market will be presented to investors and potential partners at the expo. Entrepreneurs will be able to establish partnerships and introduce businessmen to new franchise technologies.
After the official opening, there will be a large educational and information component for expo guests. For example, Senior Vice President for Development of Rosinter Restaurants Holding Ernesto Gonzalez, Domino’s Pizza Franchise Director Oleg Yudin, Director of the Franchise Department of Hemotest Svetlana Vasilenko, and founder of the largest barber shop chain in Russia Topgun Alexei Lokontsev among others will speak about their success stories, challenges they have faced, and other nuances of the industry. The following days of the expo will feature equally interesting master classes. The programme is available at: https://forum.rusfranch.ru/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/PROGRAMMA-VYSTAVKI_tEn.pdf
The World Franchise Council (WFC) held a meeting during the World Franchise Forum and Moscow Franchise Expo 2018. WFC members and the heads of franchise associations from Australia, China, Mexico, Singapore, the United States, the Philippines, France, and other countries spoke in their presentations about the specifics of the industry’s development in their countries and the key modern trends that are being seen.
Detailed information about the Forum’s business programme and the Moscow Franchise Expo 2018 is available at the official website.
