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Africa Franchise Centre opens in Lagos

By Editor
02 December 2017   |   4:21 am
Africa Franchise Centre, a private sector-led initiative out to develop the franchise sector on the continent and boost its economic development...

Africa Franchise Centre, a private sector-led initiative out to develop the franchise sector on the continent and boost its economic development, has opened in Lagos, where Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, reiterated his administration’s commitment to providing a conducive environment for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to operate successfully.

Represented at the occasion by his Special Adviser on Overseas Affairs and Investment, Prof Ademola Abass, Ambode said the state’s N25b Employment Trust Fund (which interest is five per cent) was among steps his administration took to support SMEs.

“Government will continue to design and implement policies for enterprise development, as well as provide conducive environment with access to finance for youths and entrepreneurs to achieve their potentials.

“The AFC is a welcome development from the private sector to support government initiative at enterprise development,” he said.

The governor added that it would also enhance opportunities for youths by taking up franchise opportunities that would expose them to international trade and boost the bilateral trade relations between Nigeria and other participating countries.

A Director of the AFC, Mr. Emma Esinnah, said the centre was founded to help improve on the success rate of SMEs in Nigeria and Africa as a whole through the adoption of proven business systems that franchising provides.

Lamenting the high failure rate of SMEs, which he said was over 90 per cent after 10 years, Esinnah said franchising as a business growth model had a failure rate of five per cent within the same period, making it a veritable model for creating employment and boosting prosperity across the continent.

Chairman of the Centre for Values in Leadership, Prof Pat Utomi, said entrepreneurship is a quantum leap in value creation, adding that franchising helps entrepreneurs address the risk element in business by providing proven successful models.

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