The government should look no further than the franchising sector if it wants to develop skills and create jobs, says the new chairman of the South African Franchising Association, Jan Davel.
With better access to cheaper funding, as well as additional support and partnership between the private sector and the franchising community, Mr Davel says hundreds of thousands of small and medium enterprises can be created and help put a dent on the country’s worsening employment crisis.
The franchise sector employs more than 500000 people, contributes almost R300bn to SA’s gross domestic product (GDP) and some franchises were beginning to expand into sub-Saharan Africa, says Clive Pintusewitz, director for business banking and enterprise development at Standard Bank .
Some of the well-known franchised outlets include those operated by fast-food company KFC and Tiger Wheels and Tyres.