The American Chamber of Commerce, Ghana, on December 6, 2021, hosted  Cynthia Griffin, Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs for Sub-Saharan Africa in Accra, for a roundtable discussion on building a sustainable and profitable franchise ecosystem in Ghana.

The roundtable held under the theme, Creating a Profitable Franchise Market in Ghana, had in attendance Dean Matlack, Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the U.S Embassy in Ghana, and selected franchisees including UPS, Burger King, U.S. Tampico, Pizza Hut, Harley Davidson, MAC Cosmetics, and Pinkberry. Also present at the meeting were AmCham Ghana Executive Secretary, Simon Madjie, Jane Okyere-Aduachie, AmCham Ghana Membership, External Relations and Project Manager, representatives from the U.S. Embassy in Ghana, as well as a representative from the law firm, Kimathi, and Partners.

In 2020, there were an estimated 753,770 franchise establishments in the United States with an economic output of 670 billion U.S. dollars, employing about 7.49 million people.

Dean Matlack, Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the U.S Embassy in Ghana, during his remarks said he believes Ghana is well-positioned to grow its franchise industry and indicated that it is a priority for his office. He also added that franchising has a lot of potential in promoting bilateral trade between the United States and Ghana.

The guest speaker for the event, Cynthia Griffin, noted the importance of understanding the new franchising schemes and stressed the need to create an enabling business environment to help new and existing franchises grow. ”We need a proper business environment to develop a franchise industry.”

The meeting also featured discussions on some challenges faced by franchisees, such as supply chain integration and the cost of importing equipment and other inputs. Attendees noted the importance of creating auxiliary industries to manufacture machinery and services to help cut the cost of doing business.

The franchise roundtable also doubled as the inaugural meeting of the newly formed Franchise Committee. An AmCham Ghana initiative in collaboration with the U.S. Commercial Service in Ghana aimed at creating a platform where franchisees and other professionals dialogue on pressing issues, share ideas, and advocate for a favorable business environment.