The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) is calling on entrepreneurs in Nigeria’s South East to explore franchising as a viable strategy for long-term business success.
This recommendation was made during a one-day awareness workshop held in Abuja, where NOTAP introduced newly developed Franchising Guidelines tailored for stakeholders from the South East region.
Dr. Obiageli Amadiobi, NOTAP’s Director General, was represented at the event by Mr. Emeka Orji, who leads the agency’s Corporate Planning Department. He emphasized that franchising is a well-established international business approach with significantly lower risk levels. “At its core, franchising involves a legal agreement between two parties—the franchisor and the franchisee—allowing the latter to operate using the established brand name and business practices of the former,” he explained.
The session was aimed at helping South Eastern business owners—renowned for their entrepreneurial mindset—convert homegrown ideas into successful international ventures using the franchise model. “Franchising offers more than just a blueprint for doing business; it’s a channel for economic advancement,” said Dr. Amadiobi. She highlighted the massive global impact of franchising, with over 800,000 active franchises collectively contributing trillions to the world economy.
According to her, franchising enables entrepreneurs to build recognizable brands without heavy financial risks. Its structured and repeatable nature boosts efficiency and significantly lowers the chances of business failure. “It levels the playing field,” she added, “giving aspiring business owners—even those with limited resources or ideas—the opportunity to succeed using existing, proven systems.”
However, she stressed that maintaining brand integrity is essential. Franchisors must provide continuous support, oversight, and training to ensure franchisees uphold the brand’s values and standards. “Deviating from the original concept or mismanaging operations can damage the brand as a whole,” she cautioned.
Dr. Amadiobi urged attendees to thoroughly study NOTAP’s newly launched Franchising Guidelines to determine whether to launch their own franchise concepts or partner with existing ones, as a means to build wealth and contribute to economic development.
