INSIDE YOUR BUSINESS: Top 5 Industries Where You Can Consider Buying A Franchise

Loading player...
Freddy Makgato, CEO of Franchise Association of South Africa (FASA) talks about Fast food franchises are among the most popular businesses to buy in South Africa. Many South Africans have affinities to brands like Steers, Nando's, McDonald's, and KFC – and these have proven models that systematise operations and generate profits. 

But they come at a steep cost to franchisees – often requiring millions in setup costs and ongoing management fees of around 12% of monthly turnover. And that's if they're even available in the first place.

There are, however, several fast-food franchises that operate nimbly. They deal in limited menus specialising in a single food type sold at low prices and away from expensive retail space. 

Items that don't require complex cooking procedures, like sausages, pies, chips, and crumbed fish, are ideally suited to these operations, with some allowing the majority of preparation to take place off-site.

The franchises are also cheap because they operate out of food trucks, gazebos, kiosks, or small retail stores rather than taking over pricey floor space in malls.

As a result, many offer attractive deals to franchisees with flat or low monthly management and marketing fees.

Given the average price point and limited range of menu items, the profits from these stores may be lower than more prominent quick service restaurants – the average order cost will be far lower for a hot dog than a premium burger with chips. 

But a well-positioned store, outside a busy hardware store or in a high-traffic walkway, for example, may sell a lot of units and generate reasonable profits, especially given the lower initial and ongoing fees.
1 Feb 2023 10AM English South Africa Business News · Investing

Other recent episodes

One Year Into The Two-Pot System: How Much Have South African’s Withdrawn?

Guest - Nzwa Shoniwa, Managing Executive: Sanlam Umbrella Solutions From 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2025, Sanlam Corporate paid out approximately R4 billion across 223 000 emergency-pot claims with R1 billion in tax flowing to SARS. On average, we are paying out about R150 million a month, but when…
11 Sep 10AM 14 min

Discovery Group Delivers 30% Rise In Profits

Guest - Hylton Kallner, CEO of Discovery South Africa and Discovery Bank Discovery has delivered record results, posting a 30% surge in profit and entering a new phase of scaled growth with its two main composites, Discovery South Africa and Vitality. We’re joined by Hylton Kallner, CEO of Discovery South…
11 Sep 9AM 18 min

FirstRand Post 10% Rise In Earnings And An Impressive 20% Return On Equity

Guest – Mary Vilakazi – CEO of FirstRand South Africa’s largest banking group, FirstRand, has posted a 10% rise in earnings and an impressive 20% return on equity – well above peers – despite economic headwinds. In this episode, we speak to Mary Vilakazi, the Group CEO, about what drove…
11 Sep 9AM 16 min

What Tractor Sales Tell Us About The State Of Agriculture In South Africa?

Guest – Thabile Nkunjana, Agricultural Economist Agricultural Machinery Sales indicate that August tractor sales of 700 units were 22% more than the 572 units sold in August last year. There have been welcome reactions from agricultural associations about the increase in machinery sales.
10 Sep 10AM 20 min