Franchise India and SIDBI Join Hands to Strengthen Franchising Ecosystem in India

NEW DELHI, August 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Initiate the Country's First Funding Programme to Bolster Franchising Ventures

Franchise India, India's leading franchise and retail solution provider and SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India) launched the Franchise India-SIDBI Programme at a round table meet in Sheraton Hotel, Saket. The programme has been instituted as a funding initiative to make the franchising model of business less daunting and more attractive to aspiring entrepreneurs in the country. The SIDBI-Franchise India MoU signed at the programme aims to make financial support available to emerging and established franchisors in India.

The event saw a host of eminent delegates from the fields of franchising and banking speaking on the funding and expansion possibilities franchisors can aspire towards. This was followed by presentations from participating brands where they elucidated their expansion plans and future goals. The concluding open house was an interactive and highly educative session where various banking products for MSMEs, their pros and cons, product lines for various franchisees, dealerships and ancillary business were discussed among other relevant subjects.

Service sector has a huge franchise potential covering 67% of the economy. The objective of the roundtable is to involve industry experts and appreciate nuances of the franchise industry. The SIDBI-Franchise India collaboration is in the process of devising relevant products for the franchise industry which will be offered to some selected franchisers as a pilot funding programme. On the basis of the evaluation, SIDBI-Franchise India is going to commercialize the franchising products for the Indian market.

Mr NK Maini, Managing Director of SIDBI, commented on the alliance, saying, "Franchise-based business models are gradually maturing in India and they offer very good entrepreneurial opportunities in diversified sectors. I congratulate Franchise India for organising the round table meet and hope that the deliberations will enable SIDBI to create a sustainable and robust financing model for the franchise industry which in the coming years can be mainstreamed as a regular banking product."

SIDBI also introduced its service sector scheme which will offer credit guarantee funds to Micro Small Enterprises (CGFMSE). In this, SIDBI will provide Rs. 1 crore loan guarantee to the lender bank on behalf of micro small enterprises. This collaboration has also set up a financing limit for the service sector enterprises. For micro service centers, Rs. 10 lakh of investment in equipment will be made excluding infrastructure cost. For small service centers, Rs. 200 lakhs will be provided and for medium service center, the investment in equipment would be Rs. 500 lakhs.

Speaking on the launch of the SIDBI-Franchise India Programme, Mr Gaurav Marya, Chairman, Franchise India, said, "At Franchise India, our vision has always been to make the entry into and the sustenance of the franchising ventures easy and hassle-free, especially for small businesses. We hope that the tie-up with SIDBI will make this segment even more attractive with solid financing models and products for entrepreneurs to rely on."

About Franchise India:

Franchise India is Asia's largest integrated franchise solution company since 1999, with an absolute authority on franchising, licensing, retailing, real estate and marketing. The company has consulted several major brands over these years like Sbarro, Peter England, Barista, Booster Juice, Videocon, Perfect Wellness, Satya Paul, Bwitch, HCL, MGF, Quality Walls, Tata, Gitanjali, HSBC, Levis, JK Tyres, Lakme, D'damas, Adidas, Euro Kidz, The Apollo Clinic, Chhabra 555, Kidzee, Motilal Oswal, Rosebys, Next, Welhome and more, through media, advisory and exhibitions. With its strategically formed divisions, Franchise India has created its own niche as the pioneer of the franchise industry and a small business authority.

Primary Media Contact: Priyanka Sharma, [email protected], 91-9899653162