Survival and Growth: Franchising in Africa

<p>What are the obstacles and opportunities of franchising in Africa? While this business model is still in its infancy there, entrepreneurs like <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/grace-munyirwa-243106144/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Grace Munyirwa</a> of Vine Pharmaceuticals in Uganda are embracing it to grow and scale, while experiencing significant challenges along the way. Hear a story of struggle and success and gain insights from <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/chiagozie-nwizu-icmci-imcn-a5598923/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chiagozie Nwizu</a>, a franchise expert in Africa who has dedicated his career to educating entrepreneurs and investors on the power and pitfalls of the franchise model.</p><p>Grace Munyirwa is a self-educated entrepreneur without any formal business training. But that didn’t stop him from growing his pharmacy business to 36 shops across the African continent. Unfortunately, overexpansion, credit mismanagement, and success got the best of him. “We were walking on water and everything we were touching was turning to gold; pride got ahead of us. And so we opened locations that were not sustainable. We opened locations that were not supposed to open at all,” Munyirwa recounts.</p><p>As a last-ditch effort to save Vine Pharmaceuticals, Munyira turned to franchising. While franchising is hugely popular around the world, in Africa it’s still very early days, with little to no formal legal structures, franchise associations, training, or local history to build from. Chiagozie Nwizu is trying to close that knowledge gap.</p><p>“For us to make progress with the franchise model in Nigeria, we will need to begin to have the smart franchiser and the smart investor — and being smart is being franchise-literate,” Nwizu explains.</p><p>Munyira had to build his franchise model from scratch in Uganda, adapting it to meet his specific needs. One way he did that was by taking on more of the financial burden than is usual for a franchiser. Instead of asking hi