[align=justify]We begin our first interaction with you, our dear alumni, with an acquaintance. Introducing the MicroFranchise Department. We are a newly formed department under the umbrella of the Called2Serve Philippines with the primary objective of assisting you in your entrepreneurial efforts towards microfranchising.
Jason Fairbourne, of the BYU MicroFranchise Development broadly defined microfranchising as “the replication of microenterprises with the intent of creating economic self-reliant people around the world.” He presented the slight difference between the microfranchising idea from the traditional aim of franchising, “…the overall objective of microfranchising is to promote economic development for the poor in developing countries by creating and offering sound business opportunities and services to them.” In this light, Fairbourne further explains the three phases of establishing a microfranchise: 1) creating an enterprise, 2) systematizing it, and 3) replicating it. The MF Department follows the same guidelines. Along with the collective effort of the Academy and the Alumni Services, the MF Department offers a fair share in fulfilling the mission for our dear students and alumni.
What we have done as a start has not been much, but has been rewarding to understand what more we could do. Our efforts include a teaching opportunity for students from every batch on the fundamentals of franchising, an exposure to existing businesses from alumni owned as well as inviting established franchise businesses through our MF Mini Expo, and developmental projects like operation manual creation, franchise agreements, and other related franchising materials as potential tools for alumni. There is a whole lot more to do in order to accomplish the objects of microfranchising, but we are up to the task and will continue to give our best. Our hope is to establish this department that it may serve you in your business endeavors successfully[/align]
