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Empowering Entrepreneurs: FLAsia 2024 to Ignite Franchising & Licensing Opportunities Across Asia

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SINGAPORE, Aug. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The countdown has begun for Franchising and Licensing Asia (FLAsia) 2024 – one of the region’s most anticipated trade events for franchising and licensing. Organised by the Franchising and Licensing Association (Singapore) and Constellar, FLAsia 2024 will take place at Sands Expo & Convention Centre from September 12 to 14. The trade event offers unparalleled opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors to connect with leading brands looking to expand across the rapidly growing Asia Pacific consumer market.

Asia’s Gen Z Driving Future Consumption Demand and Retail Trends

As Asia continues to be a key driver of global economic growth, its increasingly affluent millennials, Gen Z consumers and the burgeoning middle class are shaping global consumption patterns and driving demand for quality services and products across various sectors. These include beauty and wellness, education, food and beverages, and technology – which are leading exhibitor profiles at FLAsia 2024.

Gen Zs will account for 23.2 percent of the global population and spending an estimated US$12 trillion by 2030, becoming the highest consumer spending class in many regions. Much of the total spending by this population will also be from non-Western countries[1]. This makes Asia one of the most lucrative regions with vast opportunities for homegrown and global brands to expand beyond their familiar markets and target Gen Zs through franchising & licensing, therefore increasing their potential as lucrative business models in Asia[2].

Franchising & Licensing Boosts Business Stability and Wealth Growth 

The United States of America is home to about 33.2 million small businesses, with only 2.4 percent (or over 806K) are franchises. While in Asia, China leads the Asian franchise market with over 4,000 franchise brands and 500,000 franchise outlets. Southeast Asia also hosts over 4,500 franchise systems with more than 160,000 franchisee firms. Coupled with a robust surge in franchising within India, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan in recent years, Asia now contributes to over 30 percent of all franchised businesses worldwide, establishing itself as a lucrative market for franchising undergirded by robust growth potential[3].

Against this backdrop, franchising & licensing is also becoming a viable and accessible option for financially-savvy younger generations seeking to monetise and grow their accumulated wealth as business owners[4]. An increasingly attractive alternative pathway to entrepreneurship, franchising & licensing significantly reduces risk and enhances the potential for a successful and rewarding career as a business owner.

Franchising & licensing offer more business stability and growth, while leveraging on the established master brand recognition, multiplier brand impact from wider marketing efforts, as well as training and comprehensive support offered across the business journey. Additionally, the benefits include enabling franchisees and licensees to be part of businesses and brands that resonate with their ambitions, aspirations and ethics.

“As the springboard to the vast Asian consumer market, Singapore is a strategic market and launchpad for master franchisors and aspiring entrepreneurs. The city’s pro-business environment and stability offer a favourable climate for regional growth. FLAsia 2024 aims to be the essential platform for knowledge exchange and business networking for franchisors and franchisees to explore exciting partnerships,” said Mr Dickson Low, President of the Franchising and Licensing Association (Singapore).

FLAsia 2024 Highlights

FLAsia 2024 expects to feature over 300 franchise brands and licensable characters by 150 exhibitors, including international franchises from Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, United States of America and Vietnam, enabling FLAsia 2024 as the most international franchising show in the region[5].

Extensive Best Practices and Franchise Journeys Sharing at FLAsia 2024 Conference, Workshop and Fresh! Brands Showcase: Focusing on strengthening resilience in the franchising business, this year’s conference and workshop delves into dynamic discussions, hands-on workshops and insightful case studies to empower franchisors and franchisees with strategies and solutions to address and overcome challenges. Emerging brands with innovative F&B concepts and cutting-edge tech solutions can also pitch their brands at the Fresh! Brands Showcase. These sessions include:Panel Discussion on the advantages of investing in franchises, and the benefits and rewards as a franchisee, with Anytime Fitness Singapore and Philippines, Fun Learners’ School, Ryan’s Grocery and 7-Eleven;Roundtable Discussions on the ins-and-outs of franchising in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, hosted by the Franchising and Licensing Association (Singapore) and helmed by in-market experts at each roundtable; Workshops that empower aspiring and prospective franchisees at every stage of the franchising journey: From understanding investment profiles to identify suitable franchises for acquisitions, franchise recruitment and relationship management, as well as conflict management strategies and communication techniques for franchisees and franchisors.Unparalleled Insights and Opportunities for Character Licensing: Bandai Namco will be showcasing its licensable characters – Pac Man and Tamagotchi, for which the licenses can be acquired. Licensees can then design and create co-branded merchandise and products for retail sale. As an agent for character licensors, XM Studios seeks to connect licensors and licensees to explore partnership opportunities. To further empower and equip attendees for this unique adventure, XM Studios and FT Consulting will be helming a panel discussion at the FLA 2024 conference to explore innovative licensing models and strategic brand collaborations that will unlock growth potential for merchandise and product licensing[6].Direct Access to Franchisors Onsite: FLAsia 2024 provides direct access to new and established brands in key sectors experiencing higher consumer demand from Asia; namely beauty & wellness, education, food & beverage, health and retail. The franchise brands seeking potential franchisees beyond their home countries include Appzgate, Dian Xiao Er, EAT Pizza, Figaro Coffee, Grains & Co, Greendot, Hawker Chan, Lee Wee & Brothers, Moon Eat Mountain Shawarma, Shen Mo Education Group, The GearBox (by MK Group) and more.

For F & B brands, attendees can also get more familiar with the brand experience and actual product, enabling them to make better informed decisions when considering franchising intent.

For the latest information on FLAsia 2024, connect on Linkedin and Facebook. To register, visit the FLAsia website.

For media enquiries and interview requests, contact the Constellar Communications team at comms@constellar.co.

About Franchising and Licensing Association (Singapore)

FLA (Singapore), one of the founding members of the World Franchise Council, was established in 1993 with the mission to nurture and develop Singapore’s franchising industry. An essential component of Singapore’s knowledge-based economy, FLA (Singapore) promotes and facilitates the use of franchising, licensing and branding as a growth strategy for Singapore enterprises, thus contributing to turning Singapore as a regional franchise and license hub. Through its partnership with Singapore government agencies and international franchise and license bodies, FLA (Singapore) also assists its members in their international development programmes. With an active growing membership of close to 150 companies, representing more than 250 strong brands, FLA (Singapore) is led and managed by a dedicated team of advisors, committee members and a full-time secretariat with the goal of supporting Singapore companies to expand internationally. https://www.flasingapore.org/

About Constellar

Constellar is Asia’s preferred partner for convening businesses, curating ideas and creating opportunities for sustainable business growth and global impact. Based in Singapore with a regional footprint in China and Malaysia, we curate and develop influential trade and consumer events for key industries, connecting global marketplaces in sectors such as fintech, industrial transformation and ESG. We also manage the Singapore EXPO, Singapore’s largest purpose-built venue for Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE). Our vision is to be a global leader made in Asia, activating impactful networks to enable cross-industry collaboration and innovation through our holistic portfolio of intellectual properties (IP) in the MICE industry. Visit Constellar.co for more information.

[1] These observations were made in a 2024 market research report by NielsonIQ and World Data Lab on the Gen Z population, which also noted that only 44 percent of Gen Z’s total spending will come from Western countries (North America and the EU).

[2] Among these observations include franchise tea chains Nayuki, Hey Tea and Mixue Bingcheng expanding into Southeast Asia; 40-year-old Thai fast-food chicken franchise Five Star‘s aim for 11,500 outlets across 10 countries by 2024; Australian doughnut chain Lukumades (with franchises in Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and UAE) recently opening its first franchise outlet in Singapore; US bakery chain Sprinkles entering South Korea and expanding to Singapore and Malaysia; Kusto Group planning to expand restaurant chain Wendy’s presence in Central Asia, with 55 outlets across Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan by 2030; and  Wyndham Hotels & Resorts identifying Singapore as a key strategic market and opening Wyndham Singapore (previously The Peninsula Excelsior Singapore) to introduce the Wyndham brand in Asia.

[3] Franchising.com reported that the franchising landscape in Asia has experienced a robust surge in recent years, establishing the Asia-Pacific region as the global leader in the franchise market. Some observations include India holding the position of the third-largest market after United States and China, with over 4,600 active franchisers and nearly 200,000 outlets operated by almost 1.7 lakh franchisees; Japan as a major player in the Asian franchising scene, boasting over 1,500 franchise brands and 240,000 franchise outlets; South Korea experiencing a remarkable 50% increase in franchise brands since 2010 and Taiwan witnessing a notable 20% growth in franchise brands since 2010. 

[4] Entrepreneur.com and Forbes in recent years observed that franchising is a feasible way for investors to diversify their investment portfolios and build generational wealth with the right strategies and when matched with the right franchise(s). Entrepreneur.com also further featured working couple Nadine and James Middleton becoming successful entrepreneurs and achieving generational wealth through franchising. 

[5] Franchising & Licensing Asia 2023 showcased franchises and licensable characters from over 105 exhibitors and 5 country pavilions, as well as offered first-hand insights into the business from 46 experts at the FLA Conference, Workshop and Fresh! Brands Showcase. The event attracted over 6,500 attendees and facilitated over 300 business meetings and hosted tours.

[6] FT Consulting provides franchising, branding and Intellectual Property strategies and services to Southeast Asian enterprises; while XM Studios is an award-winning producer of hand-painted luxury art collectibles of characters by DC Comics, Marvel, Transformers, and more.

 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/empowering-entrepreneurs-flasia-2024-to-ignite-franchising–licensing-opportunities-across-asia-302216364.html

SOURCE Constellar

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Synagie Unveils Geene 2.0 – BytePlus, SingData and FLY Entertainment Among 12 Founding Partners Building Trusted AI Commerce

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Co-developed by leaders across AI, data, media, commerce and blockchain, the Trusted AI Commerce Intelligence Ecosystem gives enterprises a practical way to scale AI with confidence.

SINGAPORE, July 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Synagie, the flagship digital commerce and technology brand of Hong Kong-listed Synagistics Limited (HKEX: 2562), today unveiled Geene 2.0, a Trusted AI Commerce Intelligence Ecosystem (a SaaS platform) designed to help businesses move beyond isolated AI applications towards trusted, scalable business transformation.

While many organisations have adopted AI for content generation, analytics and workflow automation, these capabilities often operate independently, making it difficult to translate intelligence into measurable business outcomes while maintaining governance and accountability.

Geene 2.0 addresses this challenge by bringing together specialised capabilities across data, artificial intelligence, media, commerce and blockchain into a single software-as-a-service platform. Businesses can analyse markets, formulate strategies, generate content, automate operations and verify products through one connected ecosystem.

The platform will be commercially available in early August 2026.

The preview was witnessed by Guest-of-Honour Mr Desmond Tan, Senior Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office and Deputy Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), alongside more than 200 business leaders, ecosystem partners, customers and invited guests.

Built by Twelve Industry Leaders

Geene 2.0 was co-developed by twelve founding partners, each contributing deep expertise across data, artificial intelligence, commerce, media and blockchain.

Rather than relying on a single vendor to provide every capability, Geene 2.0 combines best-in-class technologies into one coordinated platform, enabling enterprises to deploy AI faster while reducing implementation complexity.

At the heart of the platform is the ecosystem’s proprietary ASSET intelligence engine, which orchestrates every stage of AI-driven commerce through five interconnected intelligence layers:

ASSET Layer

Business Outcome

Analyse

Transform market, customer and business data into actionable intelligence

Strategise

Recommend AI-driven commercial strategies and business decisions

Storytelling

Generate multilingual marketing, commerce and customer content

Execute

Automate commerce operations, customer engagement and sales workflows

Trust

Verify products, AI actions and business claims through blockchain-backed traceability

Together, these five intelligence layers transform AI from standalone tools into a coordinated business capability spanning insight, execution and trust.

The founding partners are:

BytePlus

China Mobile International

DataCloud

DU-MAS

FLY Entertainment

International Brand Centre

Masverse

Mei Ah Entertainment

SingData

Synagie

Yiwise

Zeneva

A Vision for the Next Generation of AI Commerce

Ms Pei Gy Wong, Chief Digital Officer of Synagie Group Asia and Europe, said:  “The next generation of AI will not be won by the companies with the largest models. It will be led by those who can build the greatest trust.

Businesses do not need more AI tools. They need AI they can trust to make better decisions, execute with confidence and deliver measurable business outcomes.

Geene 2.0 reflects our belief that the future of enterprise AI lies in collaboration. By bringing together industry leaders across data, AI, commerce, media and blockchain, we are giving businesses a practical pathway to adopt AI with confidence and at scale.”

Demonstrating the Enterprise Intelligence Ecosystem in Action

Geene 2.0 has already moved beyond concept into commercial deployment through AGONG Durian, a premium Malaysian durian brand supplied and blockchain-tagged by founding partner DU-MAS.

The implementation demonstrates how AI-powered market intelligence, content creation, commerce automation and blockchain verification can operate together in a real business environment to improve operational efficiency while strengthening consumer confidence.

The same framework can be applied across industries including retail, manufacturing, healthcare, consumer goods and luxury products where authenticity, compliance and trust have become increasingly important.

Accelerating Trusted AI Adoption in Singapore

Technology alone is not enough to accelerate AI adoption. Businesses also need access, practical implementation pathways and a workforce equipped with the right skills.

Synagie’s Geene 2.0 is one example of a digital solution that can help companies address common business challenges such as improving operational efficiency, strengthening decision-making, streamlining workflows and enhancing customer engagement. Companies seeking such solutions may explore implementation through the NTUC Company Training Committee (CTC) initiative. Through the CTC Grant, eligible companies can receive up to 70% funding support for projects that drive business transformation and workforce outcomes, including job redesign, skills development and productivity improvements. Workers could also benefit from wage increase, structured career pathways and/or skills allowance.

Synagie is also collaborating with the Singapore Industrial and Services Employees’ Union to strengthen AI readiness for its workers, including PMEs.

Looking Ahead

As enterprise AI adoption accelerates across Asia, Synagie believes the next phase of innovation will be defined by trusted ecosystems rather than standalone AI applications.

By combining intelligence, execution and accountability in one platform, Geene 2.0 provides businesses with a practical foundation to scale AI confidently while positioning Singapore as a leader in responsible enterprise AI innovation.

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SOURCE Synagie

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StarHub Strengthens Position as a Trusted Regional Digital Transformation Partner with HPE APAC Recognition

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SINGAPORE, July 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — StarHub has been named APAC Service Provider of the Year 2026 by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), recognising its success in helping enterprises modernise critical infrastructure, and deliver secure, resilient and AI-ready digital transformation.

The HPE Partner of the Year Awards recognise partners that have demonstrated excellence in delivering customer outcomes, driving innovation and creating measurable business impact.

StarHub’s recognition reflects its growing role as a trusted digital transformation partner, helping organisations translate technology investments into measurable business outcomes through its Modern Digital Infrastructure (MDI) platform strategy.

Underpinned by a cloud-native, hybrid multi-cloud architecture, MDI brings together networks, cloud, cybersecurity and clean data on a unified data platform. Combining AI-driven automation, operational intelligence and advanced analytics, it helps organisations modernise infrastructure, strengthen resilience and accelerate innovation for sustainable growth.

Through its MDI strategy and collaboration with HPE, StarHub partnered the National University of Singapore (NUS) to realise the Borderless University vision by implementing a smart, safe and sustainable ubiquitous network. By integrating StarHub’s enterprise networking, solar-powered Wi-Fi and private 5G capabilities, the joint initiative has strengthened digital connectivity and supported more flexible, seamless and secure learning experiences for students and faculty across campus beyond traditional boundaries, in Singapore and overseas.

“As organisations accelerate digital transformation and AI adoption, effective implementation increasingly depends on strong industry expertise, collaboration, and the ability to translate ideas into practical outcomes,” said Tan Kit Yong, Chief, Regional Enterprise, StarHub. “Our collaboration with NUS reflects a shared commitment in supporting digital capabilities that will enhance everyday technology experiences for faculty, researchers, staff and students. This recognition highlights the broader importance of cross-sector collaboration in addressing evolving technology needs.”

For more information, visit starhub.com/managedservices.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/starhub-strengthens-position-as-a-trusted-regional-digital-transformation-partner-with-hpe-apac-recognition-302831718.html

SOURCE StarHub

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Zeal Connect launches the world’s first AI-native help desk built exclusively for travel and beta customers say it changes how operations are run

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Travel Moves Billions of People a Year on Software That Can’t Read a Booking. Zeal Desk Just Changed That.

PUNE, India, July 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Anyone who has run a travel operation knows the 2 AM story: a guest standing at a front desk in another time zone, a hotel that never received the amendment, and the ticket that could have prevented it sitting in a queue sorted by age, not urgency inside software built for password resets, not people in transit.

That story ends with today’s launch of Zeal Desk; the world’s first AI-native help desk built exclusively for the travel industry. It wasn’t adapted from a generic tool it was written for travel from the first line of code, so it reads PNRs and hotel confirmation numbers the way a seasoned agent does, opens the live booking behind every ticket, and sorts the queue by check-in date because in travel, urgency is measured in arrivals, not ticket age.

Behind the desk, five specialised AI agents: Classifier, Prioritiser, Resolver, Auditor and Reconfirmation put the routine on Autopilot: amendments, refunds, cancellations and reconfirmations are now resolved end-to-end on the live booking, with every reply audited before it leaves. Every request email, WhatsApp or chat lands in one booking-aware inbox and follows playbooks the operator writes in plain language.

Classic Holidays ran Zeal Desk through its beta and came out convinced.

“We walked in skeptical, every help desk claims AI these days. Then we watched Zeal Desk open the booking, check the fare rule, contact the hotel and close the ticket before an agent could finish reading it. Our first reaction was disbelief. Our second was simpler: we are never running operations the old way again.”
 – Rishabh Doshi, Managing Director, Classic Holidays.

“Travel has spent two decades running the world’s most operationally complex industry on hand-me-down software tools that don’t know what a PNR is. Zeal Desk is what support looks like when it’s built for travel from day one. It isn’t a better ticket queue; it’s a different way to run a travel operation.”
 – Yogesh Chaudhari, Co-founder & CEO, Zeal Connect.

Zeal Desk arrives enterprise-ready SSO/SAML, GDPR tooling, PII redaction, multi-brand workspaces and SLA engines connecting to GDS, mid-office, CRM and booking stacks, and is live today with OTAs, DMCs, bedbanks and agencies across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, India, Europe and Southeast Asia.

Zeal Desk is available now at zealconnect.com

ABOUT ZEAL CONNECT

Zeal Connect builds AI-powered products for the B2B travel industry, serving OTAs, DMCs, travel agencies, bedbanks and supplier operations teams worldwide. Its platform spans Zeal Desk, the AI-native travel help desk, and Zeal Reconfirmation, the pre-check-in hotel confirmation service. Zeal Connect is headquartered in Pune, India.

 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/zeal-connect-launches-the-worlds-first-ai-native-help-desk-built-exclusively-for-travel-and-beta-customers-say-it-changes-how-operations-are-run-302831716.html

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