Franchising Middle East (FME), a leading exhibition for the franchise sector in the Middle East region, kicked off on Tuesday at Dubai International Exhibition Centre.

Abdullah Tayyeb Qassem, senior vice president (Venues), Dubai World Trade Centre, inaugurated the event which runs till March 4.

The exhibition, which is supported by the International Franchise Association (IFA) facilitates direct communication between entrepreneurs and potential franchise buyers from the region and beyond.

The event aims to provide an injection of business ideas to the Middle East market as international brands come to Dubai with a view to expanding across the Middle East with local partners.

Well known brands exhibiting at the show include Subway, Pizza Conez, Vendmax International & Crepe Café. Their presence proves the resilience of franchise model even during the downturn, said the event organisers International Expo Consults (IEC).

In a region where brand names are a currency in their own right, many business entrepreneurs see huge value in franchising as a business option,” said Abdul Rehman Falaknaz, president of IEC.

According to Falaknaz, the local franchise brand Emarat returns to FME this year as it continues to offer many of its brands for franchise, including Bakeria, Café Arabicca and Freshplus.

“FME 2010 represents an ideal environment to market these products,” said Dr Rahma Al Shamsi, retail sales manager, Emarat.

“There is no doubt that the Middle East and particularly the GCC market are of utmost importance to us as we are part of this giant economic system,' he stated.

'Of course, we’ve been affected by market fluctuations, however, our extensive experience and confidence in the quality of our products and their competitiveness, enables us to deal with any type of fluctuations with high confidence and professionalism,' he noted.

Franchise consultants such as FranCorp will also be on hand to offer would-be entrepreneurs advice on how to set up franchise operations in the region.

“In this downturn, a lot of Middle East companies are diversifying right now to sustain their business. They are looking at investing in franchising businesses. Also, companies with less cash flow are looking at selling franchising to other firms. Francorp helps both sides,” explained Imad Charafeddine, managing partner, Francorp UAE - Middle East.

Francorp, Imad said, was at the expo to educate the visitors on the benefit of franchising. We are promoting a variety of different brands at the show this week,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service