KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (Medac) is optimistic that the rebranding of Perbadanan Nasional Bhd, which involves the change of acronym and logo from PNS to Pernas, will further strengthen the agency’s position as the champion of franchise industry growth in Malaysia.
Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said franchise industry is one of the main sectors other than cooperatives and small and medium enterprise (SME) entrepreneurs that have a significant impact and contributes to the growth of gross domestic product.
“Apart from franchise business, Pernas is also developing SME entrepreneurs towards affordable franchises so that more potential entrepreneurs can venture into the franchise business.
“The franchise business is seen as the business model of choice for entrepreneurs seeing that franchise businesses have business systems that are easy to follow and highly effective in developing local entrepreneurs.
“I am confident that it will be able to achieve Medac’s target of producing 100 millionaires a year among SMEs,” he said in a statement today.
The franchise industry grew at a commendable rate with an increase in annual sales value of 17.3 per cent which is equivalent to RM13.3 billion compared to RM11 billion in 2019.
To date, a total of 1,077 franchise companies are registered, out of which a total of 68 local franchise companies have successfully penetrated the international market and are found in 70 countries.
Meanwhile, Pernas chairman Datuk Zakaria Mohd Edris said that since 2004 until now, Pernas has disbursed almost RM1.3 billion in funding to more than 5,500 entrepreneurs and has created more than 34,000 jobs.
“In line with the rebranding, Pernas will continue to aggressively grow more local franchise brands with the launch of two of its latest projects namely Project Xcelerator and Project ‘Be Your Own Boss (BYOB)’ at the beginning of the year which is set on producing five local franchise entrepreneurs and 1,000 franchisees,” he added.
The rebranding is one of the strategies to provide a clearer picture to the public on the role of Pernas in the franchise industry and further address the issue of brand confusion with other organisations over the years.
The rebranding introduces a new fresh logo and more modern colours that symbolises the support given by Pernas through the efforts to empower entrepreneurs.
Pernas and the agencies under Medac will move in tandem and support Medac’s aspiration to make entrepreneurship and cooperatives as the main agenda towards creating a conducive and inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem. – Bernama
