Franchise Business Development Services (FBDS) has made case for the creation of access to single digit franchise funding to enable the development and expansion of the critical sub-sector of the economy.
This was a crucial takeaway from the recent Franchise Matchmaking Investment forum held in Lagos at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island in Lagos on 29th March 2018.
The event, the second hosting, by FBDS –the pioneer franchise consulting company in Nigeria, Member of International Franchise Association (IFA) and promoter of entry of foreign franchise brands to Nigeria, highlighted the nitty-gritty of franchise investment procedures, pointing to the fact, if properly harnessed, that franchise businesses have the potentials to create over 500,000 new jobs in the next four years in Nigeria.
The event featured sessions by experts from the industry who discussed exhaustively on how to manage a franchise and drive profit in a very competitive business economy.
Prospective corporate and individual investors were taken through the curriculum by both the organizers and the franchisors pitching for prospective investors, on how they can own their franchised businesses at virtually no business failure risks, while gaining sufficient education through the sessions, on losses rather associated with venturing into new business. They pointed to such facts as that franchises have only 5% failure rate in South Africa, while start-up businesses record 80% failure rate within few years in Nigeria.
It also created a platform for participating investors to meet and interact with CEOs of successful franchise brands, with the CEOs and Executive representatives of over 40 local and foreign franchise brands in attendance.
In line with the views of supporting organizations, such as Nigerian American Chamber of Commerce (NACC), Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Enterprise Development Center of The Pan African University (EDC) and Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF); The Convener, Mr. Chiagozie Nwizu, said that the Forum was part of FBDS’ measure, to facilitate risk free venturing, business sustainability, growth of the enterprise sector and attraction of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) to the economy, through the franchise business model.
He said, “Franchise Matchmaking Forum is a quarterly franchise investor’s forum creating opportunities where the franchisor finds qualified potential franchisees who meet his brand’s criteria, and the potential franchisee meets the franchisor with a suitable proposition for his investment interest”.
The highpoint of the event was the exhibition session following the pitches from the franchise owners, where the investors had the opportunity to interact with the various brands, making investment decisions having used the knowledge they gained, to assess suitable franchises to buy.
Some of the participating brands included: Meadow Foods, Chicken Republic, Rockin Jump, Bakaria, Avis, Studio24, Sweet Factory, Coffeeshop Company Tantalizers PLC; House Of Tara; Five Senses Schools, Best Choice, Tolaram Group, The Toy Store, Yogurt Frenzy and Innova Pharmacies to mention a few. While some of the supporting organizations included Lagos State Employment Trust Fund; Ciuci Consulting, Enterprise Development Center; Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission and Nigerian American Chamber of Commerce.
The 2nd Franchise Matchmaking Forum was one of the programmes in the calendar of the Nigeria 2018 Franchise Agenda. The Agenda was developed following a stakeholders roundtable convened by FBDS Nigeria in November 2017, themed: “Building New Roads to Enterprise, Social and Economic Development through Franchising”.
