“There is no doubt: the franchise market in Poland has become a key sector of the economy. This is where most new businesses are born with a chance of success,” writes Monika Dąbrowska, president of the Polish Franchise Organization.
The 20th anniversary of the Polish Franchise Organization is a unique opportunity to recall the most important moments that led to such dynamic development of the franchise in Poland. PFO has been working to promote the franchise from the beginning. It worked!
Today, more than 20 percent of adult Poles surveyed spontaneously associate a franchise with their own licensed business and understand the basics of this form of cooperation. Since own business will never be a job for everyone, the fact that almost 5-6 million Poles have at least basic knowledge about franchise, must be pleasing. I would like to thank all the PFO member companies and management boards who have taken care of the educational torch. We managed to convince Poles that the franchise as a business model is attractive, that it gives a greater chance of success than starting from scratch and that it is safer than opening your own company without any know-how.
Currently, there are over 1,000 franchise networks and 80,000 franchisees in Poland.. Most often they are family businesses. In total, nearly one million people work on the franchise market. The Polish franchise market is already mature: we will find more business ideas here than even in Spain, and the Franchise Fair organized for 18 years at the Palace of Culture is the second largest fair in Europe, after Paris, larger than those in London, Milan or Moscow .
When Parliament adopts laws, it is sometimes necessary to be active in the defense of franchisees, after all they are small Polish companies. Entrepreneurs can count on such defense on the part of PFO. In recent years, PFO has become a permanent consultant on business laws, we cooperate with representatives of the government as well as local government authorities, the management board of the organization also participates in meetings in the office of the Ombudsman for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. Cooperation with the SME spokesperson will be one of the most important areas of activity also in 2020.
PFO has been a member of the European Franchise Federation and the World Franchise Council since 2010. We are part of the business world. We exchange experiences with foreign partners and have the opportunity to intervene in legal solutions regarding franchise before the European Commission. We have been working to promote the franchise for two decades and we will continue to do so.
