The Franchise Association in South Africa (Fasa), a long-standing member of the World Franchise Council (WFC), has been mandated to establish a franchise federation on the African continent, which will, in time, apply in its own right for membership of the WFC.

The inaugural meeting of the Pan African Franchise Federation (Paff) would be held in Johannesburg on May 29, and was set to be attended by delegations from Egypt, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Tanzania and Nigeria – countries that were interested in establishing a franchise association in their respective countries and in being part of the Paff.

This meeting would coincide with the opening of the International Franchise and Entrepreneurs Expo (IFE 2013), which would run from May 9 to 11 at the Sandton Convention Centre, in Johannesburg. 

“While South Africa has had a thriving first-world franchise sector since the 1960s, with over 80% of our franchise concepts being home-grown, Africa as a whole has lagged behind in franchise development. 

“It is now time that we play a bigger role in promoting franchising and expanding this unique business format, not just to selective countries, but to the continent as a whole,” commented Fasa executive director Vera Valasis.

She added that the WFC would provide a leading and educational role in the establishment of the Afrocentric franchising organisation.

“With economic growth in third-world countries overtaking established economies, and a growing demand for every type of consumer good and service, it is time that Africa formed a federation to assist with spearheading franchise growth throughout the continent,” she commented.

To further promote the principles of franchising, former Fasa chairperson Peter Moyanga, former Fasa executive director Nic Louw and Fasa legal adviser Eugene Honey had, in association with Standard Bank and the African Development Bank, 
held several franchising seminars on the continent.

Moyanga believed Africa was at the beginning of an enormous growth curve, which was driven by an emerging middle class.

“In 2008, the continent’s combined gross domestic product was R11.2-trillion, which was larger than that of India and on a par with that of Brazil and Russia combined.  It is estimated that consumer spending on the continent will, in the next few years, be R9.8-trillion,” he said.

The driver of this growth, said Louw, lay in the private sector.

“Africa needs new enterprises that create jobs and wealth and it is the small and medium enterprise sector that carries the hope for the continent and is the route that Africa must pursue,” he commented.