FASA appoints new chairman and vice chairman

This comes at a time when FASA is gaining international recognition as an active member of the World Franchise Council and is proving to be the flagship for franchise growth within the rest of Africa. Says Nic Louw, Executive Director of FASA, " Franchising has proved to be an important mechanism for economic reconstruction and development in South Africa. Government has, through its proposed regulatory framework due out later this year, acknowledged that franchising, especially in the SME sector, is an important force and the ideal business format to generate employment, exploit niche markets, enhance productivity, embrace technology and ultimately stimulate economic development."

PETER MOYANGA - CHAIRMAN

Peter Moyanga, who takes the helm as Chairman of FASA, has many years' experience in franchising and after a stint as National Franchise Development Manager for the Pleasure Foods Group, was headhunted by McDonald's, South Africa and now holds the position of Multi-Department Head, responsible for all the operations development, field servicing and IT requirements of the franchising division.

Peter, who is often called on to lecture on entrepreneurship and franchising, believes that Africa and more specifically South Africa is becoming the "new frontier" in franchising. "Not only can we boast having five of the top twenty franchises in the USA currently doing business in our country, but South Africa, with 80% of its franchises home-grown concepts, has shown that it can successfully harness and develop its own entrepreneurial spirit. In addition, it has successfully taken its franchise concepts into the rest of Africa and is destined to play an even more important role in the future franchise roll-out throughout Africa."

BRENDA MACQUEEN - VICE CHAIRMAN

Brenda Macqueen, a director of Franchize Directions, who takes on the Vice Chairmanship of FASA, is considered the doyenne of franchise training in South Africa, having spearheaded specialised franchise training in the country over the last six years and trained thousands of franchisees and their staff, both in the general franchise sector and particularly in the petroleum sector. She received extensive experience in retail and franchise management working for Pleasure Foods for 7 years, in various capacities, including National Operations Manager. She moved to the UK, where she enjoyed 5 years with Pepsico UK, on their Pizza Hut Brand as an Area Manager.

Back in South Africa, she worked for BP SA as Franchise Training Manager before starting Franchize Directions with Bendeta Gordon, heading up their training division. Says Brenda, "The economies of some of the most successful countries in the world have been built on the contribution of SMME's and South Africa is no exception, with two thirds of its people employed in the SMME sector. The secret to the success of franchising in Africa is in the transfer of skills and in the training of both the entrepreneurs who have the potential to start new business concepts and in those who ultimately make up the workforce of the franchising industry."

South Africa's franchising industry continues to be the one business format that is enjoying continued success and growth, making it a vital force in the economy and one of the dominant organisational forms of our times.