Globally it is recognised that small businesses stimulate growth, employment and innovation in an economy. Therefore, the future growth prospects of the South African economy are largely dependent on entrepreneurs.
Unfortunately, entrepreneurial activity in South Africa lags other comparable countries quite significantly. The economic recession of 2008/2009 inflicted a heavy blow dragging the entrepreneurial activity figure from 7% down to 5%, a figure that South Africa has been trapped with for a number of years.
One practical solution that FNB Commercial has highlighted is the role that franchising can play in achieving entrepreneurial and economic development goals.
Franchise businesses are four times more likely to survive their first few years than stand alone start up businesses and, therefore, franchising has an important role to play in South Africa’s future economic development. However, while franchising is seen as a key business and economic driver, the industry is not without challenges. Continue reading this post.