Solape Hammond: Lagos ready to explore enormous opportunities in franchise industry

Solape Hammond, special adviser to the governor of Lagos on sustainable development goals and investment, says Lagos state is ready to explore the enormous opportunities in the franchise industry to catalyse local businesses to meet the global standards.

She said this at the launch of the Lagos MSMEs Franchise Framework Development Initiative organised by the office of sustainable development goals and investment in partnership with FRANDIS Forum, at Providence Hotel, GRA Ikeja.

She said the initiative is part of the business support structure the state’s administration is putting in place to help MSMEs explore new markets, generate wealth and compete on a global level.

According to her, the franchising industry is a quiet achiever.

“For many years there have been no headlines about the industry and its amazing contribution to our national economies. The market demand for this industry is growing by as much as 30% each year in the global markets and it is our understanding that the majority of our businesses are still unaware of this option and how they can access the space,” she said.

“Lagos State being the cradle of commerce in Nigeria is ready to explore the enormous opportunities in the franchise industry to catalyse local businesses to meet the global standards.”

While pointing out that the government is directing its efforts to ensure MSMEs have access to capital, technology, and marketing resources, Hammond noted that the initiative presents a veritable platform to build brand equity for Lagos businesses and drive job growth.

“Through the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), we have been consistently extending financial assistance to MSMEs to provide them access to needed capital. We also assist them in their debt obligation payment, repurposing existing business capital, and acquiring new technologies and systems. We are constantly helping them adjust their business processes to adapt to the new normal,” she said.

The special adviser also revealed that MSMEs need to harness the vast potential of franchising to advance their products and services, adding that structure will address the underlying issues of capacity and performance.

In her words, “providing the required structure for entrepreneurs will spur our local market and the investment we have made on manufacturing industry. Franchising can be a strategic platform to link these infrastructure with the business opportunities that will support the growth of MSMEs”.

According to her franchise is a business model that has been proven and the goal is to work with the rest of the industry to provide safer and more efficient business opportunities that will promote growth and development.

She said setting up the franchise platform is a major step in the delivery of tangible improvements to services, providing long-term certainty to the market and supporting our huge investment in business ecosystem.