Networking and digital reputation on the agenda at Franchise Market Talks

Franchise Market Talks, organised as part of the 24th Bayim Olur musun? franchising fair in Istanbul, brings together business networking and digital reputation on its agenda for the franchise community. According to the announced programme, Ayşe Aslan, Chair of BNI Turkey, will meet investors on 17 October, followed by Mürsel Ferhat Sağlam, Founder of Branding Türkiye, on 18 October. The two sessions will consider franchise opportunities not only in terms of physical expansion, but also through relationships and brand visibility.

BNI’s franchise opportunity in Turkey to be discussed

According to the event announcement dated 13 October, the session featuring Ayşe Aslan will begin at 14:00 on Saturday 17 October 2026. It will be moderated by Mürsel Ferhat Sağlam, Founder of Branding Türkiye. The discussion will centre on the franchise opportunity offered in Turkey by business referral organisation BNI, alongside the importance of international networking for brands.

The session was announced under the title “76 Countries. 42 Years. The World’s Largest Business Referral Organisation: BNI. Now Offering a Franchise Opportunity in Turkey”. These claims appear in the event’s promotional title; the discussion itself will focus on why investors place their trust in the global network and how international connections can contribute to growth.

Aslan, who leads BNI’s operations in Turkey, is expected to explore the role of strong business networks and strategic partnerships as brands move from local markets to an international scale. Growth targets for the network in Turkey are also on the announced agenda. The session is therefore aimed both at entrepreneurs interested in BNI’s franchise offering and at participants seeking to develop connections for their own brands.

What makes this topic distinctive for the franchise community is its focus on a business model beyond opening a shop or restaurant. The announcement highlights a franchise opportunity built around a business referral organisation. For investors, the questions to examine concern not just the brand’s international reach, but also the day-to-day operation of the model offered in Turkey and the role expected of the franchisee.

A separate session on digital visibility and reputation

The programme’s second topic focuses on how franchise brands position themselves online. An announcement dated 14 October confirmed that Mürsel Ferhat Sağlam will speak at 11:00 on Sunday 18 October 2026. The session will be moderated by Zeynep Gözdoğan, Editor-in-Chief of Franchise Market Türkiye.

The panel was announced under the title “A Benchmark for Branding with a Turkish School of Thought: Branding Türkiye | The Keys to Digital Visibility, Reputation and Growth for Franchise Brands”. Its announced scope covers digital branding, reputation management and growth strategies. Sağlam is expected to share his views on these subjects with investors, entrepreneurs and business representatives.

Sağlam will take on different roles across the two sessions: moderator asking the questions at the BNI discussion, and speaker sharing his views at the digital branding panel. This structure places business relationship-building and the development of a brand’s digital identity in separate sessions.

For investors considering a franchise, it may be useful to view digital visibility as more than a promotional activity. Questions to prepare for the panel could include how responsibilities for a brand’s online communications are divided, what support local businesses receive and how reputation management is handled. These are suggested questions arising from the session’s theme, not announced commitments to provide particular services.

Both sessions to take place in Yenikapı

Both sessions form part of the 24th Bayim Olur musun? franchising fair, organised by Medyafors and announced for 15–18 October 2026 at Istanbul’s Yenikapı Avrasya Exhibition Centre. Franchise Market Talks is being presented as a new event series launched with Branding Türkiye as its strategic partner.

The announcements state that the platform will host exchanges on new growth models, investment opportunities and strategic approaches within the franchise community. Within that framework, the BNI session will address international connections and the franchise opportunity in Turkey, while the following day’s panel will explore brand visibility and reputation.

The announced content represents the sessions’ planned agenda. BNI’s growth targets in Turkey and the discussion of digital branding should therefore be understood as topics expected to be covered, rather than completed investment outcomes or new decisions already being implemented.

Investor preparation: assess the opportunity and support separately

For investors attending these two sessions, a practical approach is to assess the scope of the franchise offering separately from the support the brand will provide. For the BNI session, questions could cover how the model operates in Turkey, the franchisee’s responsibilities and the growth plan. At the digital reputation panel, the focus could be on how communication responsibilities should be divided between head office and the franchise business.

Practical takeaway: Use the sessions as a starting point for due diligence, not as the basis for an investment decision. Before choosing a franchise model, obtain written clarification of how it operates, the support available and each party’s obligations, rather than relying solely on brand visibility or international reach.