On June 2 (in Almaty) and on June 3 (in Astana), Mega Center presented the Kazakhstan Franchise Forum 2009, half-day seminars that were organized by the U.S. Commercial Service and the Kazakhstan Franchise Agency. The forums informed Kazakhstani entrepreneurs, SMEs, and local and federal government representatives about the franchising business model, how to get started, and the economic benefits of franchising. The forums also provided information on franchise brands interested in entering the Kazakhstani market.

The events were presented by Mega Center, with additional sponsorship from Pizza Hut and Coffeedelia.  Mr. Charlie Weeks of the International Franchise Association was the guest speaker, providing a mini-MBA course in franchising, explaining how franchising works and how to work with potential franchisors. U.S. Ambassador Richard Hoagland participated by discussing the economic importance of franchising and Malaysian Ambassador Dato’ Saw Ching Hong provided an overview of how his government successfully diversified its economy by implementing franchising development policies. Other guest speakers included experts in franchising, retail, commercial real estate, and successful franchising companies in Kazakhstan.

For access to the presentations, please click on the links below:

Franchising Fundamentals - Buying a Franchise.pdf,  Franchising Fundamentals - Things to Know.pdf, Franchising-The Malaysian Experience.pdf, MEGA-Retail Concepts in Kazakhstan.pdf, Pizza Hut-Franchising Challenges.pdf, Shopping Malls.pdf

In April, CS Almaty participated in the third installment of the Commercial Service’s successful Tradewinds program.  The three day event attracted over sixty US firms, and the program included a Pan European Business Conference followed by one-on-one appointments with commercial officers from across Europe.  Companies also had the choice of pursuing the Commercial Service’s Gold Key Service program in Poland or in a number of other European and Eurasian countries.  U.S. firms can make the most of their efforts in entering or expanding in the European market by attending the next Tradewinds conference in 2010 (location to be determined).

In November, CS Almaty updated and released the Doing Business in Kazakhstan:  2009 Country Commercial Guide for U.S. Companies. This annual report is a great starting point for U.S. firms looking to gain more information about this emerging market.  For on line access to the Country Commercial Guide, please visit www.export.gov and follow the link for “market research.”

On September 5, the U.S. Commercial Service in Almaty and the American Chamber of Commerce in Kazakhstan held a half-day Trade and Project Financing Seminar designed to inform local firms about the variety of financing solutions available to fund imports and how to take advantage of the business opportunities the weaker dollar provides in sourcing U.S. goods and equipment.  As Kazakhstan faces a continued credit crunch made worse by the recent global economic crises, firms looking for new finance tools to assist them in importing foreign equipment were able to hear from a variety of financial and banking experts. This event, which featured the COO and Senior VP of the U.S. Export Import Bank, was sponsored by John Deere, Bank Turan Alem, FedEx and the U.S. Commercial Service.  Please follow the following links for presentations from the seminar: BTA.pdf (280KB), EBRD.pdf (1154KB), Business Leasing Kazakhstan.pdf (180KB), OPIC.pdf (426KB), US Commercial Service.pdf (163KB), and ExIm Bank.pdf (1101KB).