Trade Minister Advises on Building an Instant Business 'Without Blood, Sweat, and Tears'

Trade Minister Budi Santoso is encouraging micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to utilise the franchise business model as a strategy to develop their businesses amid ongoing global economic challenges. According to Budi, franchising can be an alternative for business actors and aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start a business without having to build everything from scratch. He assessed that this business model provides greater certainty because the business system, products, and management have been proven. This was conveyed by Budi while attending the launch of Ayam Gepuk Pak Gembus Spot Plus. On that occasion, he also appreciated the development of Ayam Gepuk Pak Gembus, which now has around 700 outlets domestically and abroad. “First of all, I would like to express my highest gratitude and appreciation to Ayam Gepuk Pak Gembus, which now has approximately 700 outlets domestically and overseas,” Budi said in his remarks on Monday (22/6/2026). He stated that the government, together with business actors and franchise associations, will continue to collaborate to develop the franchise business ecosystem in Indonesia. “I think this franchise business model is one alternative when we, our fellow MSMEs, want to open a business that does not have to start from zero. Sometimes, if friends have capital, they get confused about what business to start. If you start from zero, your mind wanders everywhere, and eventually, because there is too much to think about, it does not happen. But one solution is franchising,” he said. Budi explained that business actors who join a franchise system do not need to build a brand, operational system, or business management from the beginning. Therefore, the chance of business sustainability is considered more assured. “When we join a franchise, everything is already there, the product is there, the management is already in place, so it is more or less like investing capital, like shares, but in a different form, in the form of running the business activity. So our business sustainability is more guaranteed,” he said. Nevertheless, Budi stressed that not all businesses can be franchised immediately. According to him, several requirements must be met so that the quality and trust in the franchise business model are maintained. “Because there are requirements to be able to franchise a product, yes, at a minimum, the business must have been running for a certain number of years and meet strict requirements provided by the Ministry of Trade. We also do not want every business to franchise quickly, because it must be truly tested, so that it is not franchised but proven to be not good enough,” he said. He added that the government is trying to maintain the image of the franchise industry so that it remains trusted by the public and investors. “So that when someone has franchised, it means the guarantee that the business will run well,” he said. Furthermore, Budi acknowledged that the current global market conditions are still facing pressure due to geopolitical uncertainty and ongoing conflicts. However, he urged business actors to remain optimistic and continue to innovate. “We will continue to promote, so that our businesses continue to grow, even though the global market is not doing well and the war is still ongoing. These are challenges not only for Indonesia but for almost all countries,” he explained. According to Budi, global economic challenges should not make the business world lose optimism. “But we must not give up, we must continue to innovate, we must continue to collaborate between the private sector and the government, and we must continue to think positively, think optimistically, we must not be pessimistic, we must remain optimistic under any circumstances,” he said. Budi also said the government will continue to encourage the promotion of national franchise brands, including through the Trade Expo Indonesia which will be held on 14-18 October. “Last year we invited or had around 8,000 attendees from abroad. Now, it is not only Pak Gembus that is overseas, many of our products have entered the global market,” he concluded.