The Trade Mission promoted by Franchising Brazil — the result of a partnership between ApexBrasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency) and ABF (Brazilian Franchising Association) — which went to the United Arab Emirates, resulted in a forecast of USD 740,000 in new business over the next 12 months.
The United Arab Emirates, one of the world’s wealthiest nations, hosted a delegation of four Franchising Brazil member brands from September 17 to 24: Aggro, Chilli Beans, Grupo SD and Hering. The goal of the mission is not only to create new business opportunities for franchises, but also to help them better understand the Arab market.
To do this, the delegation made technical visits to shopping centers and franchise operations, in addition to participating in networking talks with local executives and attending workshops on the market and on the region’s cultural and legal aspects. The two destinations chosen to host the Brazilian delegation were Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
In Abu Dhabi, the delegation visited the Emirates Association for Franchise Development, with a welcome from the organization’s president, Mr. Mohamed H. Al Muhairi. During this occasion, a Memorandum of technical cooperation was signed between ABF and the Emirates Association, which will facilitate mutual support for companies from both countries that are looking for opportunities to expand into the respective markets.
According to Bruno Amado, Executive Manager at Franchising Brazil, the estimated business for the next 12 months that resulted from this mission is just the start: “Having an opportunity for such a close learning experience with not only the franchise market in the Emirates, but also their very unique culture, was the first step in what we hope to be a long and lasting partnership between the Brazilian and Arab business communities,” says Bruno.
Bruno also believes that the International Orientation on the United Arab Emirates, a training initiative that was held in early August, has been fundamental to the success of the mission: “We gathered franchise industry specialists and executives to attend talks on legal and cultural aspects of the Arab world before the trip so that we could work with much more focus and strategy in this market,” says Bruno in closing.
About Franchising Brasil
Franchising Brasil is a joint project of the Brazilian Franchising Association (ABF) and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil), which aims to support the internationalization strategy of Brazilian franchise networks and their international trade promotion. The initiative was conceived to promote this recognized business model in the main international markets.