pichardo. you are grossly overestimating our financial abilities. i am sure a deal like this is few hundred thousand dollars just for the licence. plus starting costs. a family member inquired about macdonalds. just the franchise was cool 250k dollars. you must be kidding me. i've already participated in running a dominican business. it was hell. and that was just a small local place. i never want to do it again.
Maybe you're grossly underestimating your financial network!
Most expats have their own homes in the DR and keep relations with people in the country they came from.
A franchise like McDonald's will always be more expensive than others by their own financial guidelines policy. They want only investors for the long haul, not true entrepreneurs willing to take risks with their limited nest's egg.
You can sign a franchise contract in the DR with a foreign corporation with a lot of confidence even when your liquidity is small. Like I said, the more the merrier. The big financial backbone you need is the bank, not the investors. You can take USD$500,000 to a DR bank after establishing a good relationship and pitch your franchise plan to them. That's how one of my friends did it.
They'll be willing to become a passive partner (as guarantors) in the franchise contract and provide the liquidity up to 100% of your collateral deposit.
The way my friend did his franchise contract was to have the bank become a passive partner in the corporation and which was the beneficiary of the first five years on ROI repayments. After a set amount, the bank's passive participation ended and only stood as quasi guarantor, until the contract expired and was renegotiated.
Unlike in the states, commercial banks in the DR are allowed to participate as passive partners in corporate contracts. That's how it enables the bank to fulfill the guarantor's position in the contract.
Most expats have property or some savings when they come to live to the DR, unlike Dominicans, selling their homes or getting a mortgage they can raise some good money to invest here.
If you have none of them, then you can also buy premium life insurance and cash it in (in the states). Use the money wisely in the DR and multiply the earnings.
Another option is to use your credit card credit limits to obtain cash which you can reinvest and become a partner with others.
When there's a will, there's a way. Some are just a bit harder than others to get, but doable!
90% of corporate America has not even heard about the Dominican economy, let alone investment opportunities by expats.