Emma Esinnah, director of Africa Franchise Centre, makes case for growing small and medium scale enterprises in Nigeria through franchising

By Emeka Ejere

Empowering small and medium scale enterprises, SMEs, through franchising is a sure way of addressing the poor health of African economies as the sector remains the engine room of the strongest economies in the world.

Emma Esinnah, director of Africa Franchise Centre, AFC, made the submission at the public presentation of ‘Africa Franchise Index’, a detailed research and blueprint for the development of franchise sector in Africa.

Esinnah revealed that the curiosity over why Africa with a desperation to grow its SMEs and economies by extension has not embraced franchising prompted earlier studies done by AFC, which identified government policies, ignorance, poverty and insufficient research as some of the obstacles to the growth of franchising in Africa.

“The success of any franchising endeavour requires numerous resources – financial, intellectual and more”, he said.

“Therefore, anyone that will play in that area needs to be guided by data. Good data is crucial because people like the sound of franchising without knowing what is required to make a success of it.

According to Esinnah, the survey was conducted to “provide the information to existing and prospective franchisors and franchisees, governments, fund providers, regulators and the public.”

In his brief remarks, John Bray, the United States, US, consul general, who predicted that Nigerian population would be 450 million in the next 20 years, noted that embracing franchising is one of the effective ways of creating employments that will take care of the massive population.

Also, Brent Omdahl, commercial counsellor, US Consulate, noted that with the Africa Franchise Index, the expert team at AFC has provided the world with a much-needed roadmap to navigate the African SME space and find the best opportunities in the fastest growing markets of the continent.

He said, “Whether you are an international franchise firm looking to expand into Africa, an African economy exploring how you might franchise your own business, a government leader contemplating how to diversify your economy, or a potential franchise investor, you hold within your hands a goldmine of data and analysis that will help you in your quest to be successful in the African franchise sector.”

Giving an insight into the survey, Paul Arinze, founder of AFC, noted that the analysis was done based on responses of 1,000 respondents across Africa, who randomly answered questions based on areas of interest.

He said the document made available to everyone in attendance was only a summary of the outcome of the survey as a more comprehensive edition would be ready for download at the organisation’s website by May 1.

– Apr. 4, 2019 @ 18:49 GMT |