MicroFranchising : Creating Wealth at the Bottom of the Pyramid

Poverty remains one of the most intractable problems in the developing world. Microfranchising offers great promise in alleviating poverty by aiding in the foundation of locally owned businesses. Microfranchising is defined as small businesses whose start-up costs are minimal and whose concepts and operations are easily replicated. It involves the systematizing of microenterprises to create and replicate turnkey businesses for the poor. With the awarding of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, attention has increased on this remarkable concept.

This unique book provides an overview of the need to alleviate poverty and what methods have been used in the past to do so (e.g. microcredit). It then introduces the concept of the microfranchise and discusses how this business model can be used in poverty alleviation. Different models of microfranchising are reviewed and specific case studies highlighted to show how it has worked in different parts of the world. The book concludes with a discussion of the advantages as well as the potential problems and pitfalls that accompany microfranchising.

This book is a must read for business scholars and economists, practitioners and lenders, members of NGOs dedicated to poverty alleviation and anyone else who is interested in learning about an innovative, business focused tool to alleviate poverty.

Edited by Jason Fairbourne, Director, MicroFranchise Development Initiative, Center for Economic Self-Reliance, Brigham Young University, Stephen W. Gibson, The Academy for Creating Enterprise, US and W. Gibb Dyer, O. Leslie Stone Professor of Entrepreneurship, Marriott School, Brigham Young University, US