Making a Difference in Africa

12011 Toronto International Microfinance Summit

Making a Difference in Africa

MicroFranchising Launch:Trade Show and Workshops

by Martha DeaconFounder and CEO

The Townships Project





Report from South Africa

31 August – 2 September 2011

O.R. Tambo Recreation CentreKhayelitsha, Cape Town

South Africa



The Townships Project • has been supporting microfinance in South

Africa since 1998, and currently supports Tetla Financial Solutions and Phakamani Foundation

• created MicroFranchising Launch in response to the challenges it has faced in making microfinance as effective and efficient as possible



• What is MicroFranchising Launch?• How does it relate to Microfinance?

• Why does it matter?• What does it mean?



• MicroFranchising Launch was designed as a forum to address the four limiting factors in microfinance

• By applying the world’s most successful business system to the world’s most intractable problem: systemic poverty



The Unicycle

Microfinance

Limitations:1) 20% max voluntary;

80% necessity2) “whack-a-mole”

jealousy;3) Too many doing the

same thing4) Building assets &

infrastructure



The Bicycle

Asset-BasedCommunity Development

Let’s use what we have to get what we want



Asset-Based Community Development helps communities to understand

The Leaky Bucket



The Three-Wheeler

Third Wheel:

Corporate Social Investment/Enterprise Development

The ABCD’d community seeks additional resources…



Four- WheelDrive

Fourth Wheel:

Microfranchising and other commercial solutions

Potential to systematize, replicate and brand a tiny business



Mobile

• Market information• Banking services

• Money transfer• Repayments• Savings

• Inventory restocking • Accounting• Training• Mentoring



Four Wheel Drive Mobile meets MicroFranchising Launch!

plus



• MicroFranchising Launch: Trade Show and Workshops brought all these elements together in a unique format … it happened!

31 August – 2 September 2011 in Khayelitsha, South Africa

• Government policy makers met townships entrepreneurs met corporate entrepreneurs met franchisors met community activists…

• To create and support new microfranchising businesses to build a massive job creation engine at the bottom of the economic pyramid…



On left: Tumelo Chipfupa, Deputy Director-General, Enterprise Development, Department of Trade and Industry

On right:

Sadi Luka, Chief Director of Community Development, Department of Social Developmen



THREE CASE STUDIESFrom MicroFranchising Launch:

Trade Show and Workshops



• Example: Keys Communications• Challenge: Securing exclusive sites on home walls owned by grannies who resell them several times to competitors• Solution: Deal with the “chief” granny through

local church groups to build understanding and loyalty, thereby increasing competitive uniqueness – ACHIEVED in 2 hour workshop



“Indeed, we identified a few opportunities including providing most of the businesses that were in the Workshop Process access to The Townships. We have identified opportunities for Siyabonga Bakeries, and certainly existing township businesses like Lebo’s Backpackers, we’ll be doing some walls for them. We also made business connections with Legal Wise, and a possible partnership is brewing there. We are further more excited about the low cost biking franchise opportunities, upon which we hope to be the 1st to launch in Soweto, and KZN. All this stems from The Township Projects!”

Did you make any business connections or deals that you think will be useful? If yes, please tell us what they were.

Kabelo KaleFounder of Keys Communications



Kabelo’s unedited answer to “What did you like about the Launch?”:

“The organization of these workshops was superb. We were well taken of from the word go. BUT, I liked the flow of events the most. The Plenery Sessions and The consequent Workshops, understanding different aspects of Micro Franchise and how they relate to my business, and being given the opportunity to interrogate my own business in relation to those aspects of Micro Franchise, WOW! There is no other genius event systematization and thought out eventing like that.”



• Example: Crime Scene Clean-Up• Challenge: Cost of franchise R 136,000 ($20,000) vs. township entrepreneur ability to pay about R 10,000 ($1,500)• Solution: Downsize without losing any

branding, systematization or replication functions – ACHIEVED in 2 hour workshop



The company cleans and decontaminates sites after a traumatic or violent event. Ambulance decontamination is offered as an additional service.

YES, I met a lot of really helpful business people, we will set up appointments in the near future to discuss our opportunities. We are also busy with Honda to see how we can implement the scooters with our business.

Eileen de JagerCo-Founder, Crime Scene Clean-up

Did you make any useful business connections? If so, please tell us about them.



Eileen’s unedited answer to “Any new ideas from the Launch?”:

“New ideas? definitely YES, the project changed our whole outlook on the expansion of the business, hygiene services is much more needed in the township communities than we thought, I also realised that these communities does not know about the dangers involved in connection with hygiene. The job creation on its own could be phenomenal if done up to standard. Our business plans are in process to be changed to be able to make it affordable for an entrepreneur to start his or her own business. The operations and systems also need to be adjusted to complete the process.”



• Example: Honda Scooters• Challenge: Maximizing the townships market even with

100% financing strategy• Solution: Focus on micro-businesses lacking

transit options rather than city commuters; take advantage of microfinance credit track record – ACHIEVED in 2 hour workshop





1st element:

PlenarySessions



2nd element:

Workshops



3rd element:

Trade Show



What was achieved?• 15 businesses were workshopped to become or expand

as microfranchises by a cross-section of townships people, community workers, business tycoons,

students, entrepreneurs and government policy makers• New partners met, deals were made & business plans

revised• Everyone saw the power of small: microfranchising is

now being integrated into the mainstream for all who participated



Making it happen!

MicroFranchising Launch: Trade Show and Workshops

A new annual event in South Africa designed to use microfranchises to build a massive job

creation engine at the bottom of the economic pyramid!



Thank you!

Interested in helping us?Contact [email protected]

Next Toronto Workshop 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, 22 September 2011

At Macleod Dixon LLPRSVP essential

www.thetownshipsproject.orgWorking in South Africa; headquartered in Toronto

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.thetownshipsproject.org/




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Making a Difference in Africa