MTN`s innovative franchising project, aimed at encouraging individuals to own their own business and empower their communities, will be launched on 08 April 2000, at the Johannesburg Civic Theatre.
MTN identified the need for small business development and initiated the franchising project to cement the company`s commitment to the development of the rural and emerging local business market. The project is geared to the supply of efficient cellular telephone outlets and to the delivery of essential products and services to under-serviced and untapped areas.
Individuals will be selected in a very simple application process, which is aimed at identifying suitable franchisees from the local communities, which have been targeted to benefit from the initial phase of the project.
All successful candidates will be given product training and afforded sufficient skills necessary to manage their franchise operation effectively.
Successful franchisees will also be required to transfer the skills they have acquired by training staff from the local community. The franchisees will be entirely responsible for their own businesses and they will be required to attend skills workshops to ensure that they are able to manage their businesses effectively.
Julie Altini, MTN`s senior franchise consultant says, "We are very excited about this project and the great potential we believe that it has to bring economic autonomy to local communities. Our aim is to empower individuals, by allowing them to own and run their own businesses.
MTN is giving people the chance to make a difference in communities, which have been previously neglected. The individual entrepreneur will now be able to contribute to the economic upliftment of the community in which he or she lives by providing necessary products and services."
MTN franchising has developed two types of outlets, which potential franchisees can decide on:
Type A: A store offering the full range of communication and cellular services, situated in the CBD area of a specific region.
Type B: A container store, with a fixed roof, with specific cellular services and telephones, situated in areas that cannot support a full store.
The two types of stores allow a franchisee to grow from operating a container store (Type B) to proprietor of a full store (Type A), which is equipped to offer a wide range of cellular services, including repairs.
The ideal applicant for the franchise must be enthusiastic, dynamic and motivated. He or she should be willing to work hard, demonstrating the will to succeed. He or she should be a "hands-on" operator who can pro-actively market his/her business, selling himself/herself and the MTN franchising concept.
Adds Altini: "MTN`s commitment to individual empowerment through this unique initiative is just one example of the many social investment projects that the company has introduced, aiming to enhance the economic well-being of individuals and their communities."
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