In the 1960’s, whilst the United States had already formed their Franchise Association to steer their many franchised concepts into a formal business sector, South Africa was just starting to toy with franchising. An American franchise hamburger concept called Wimpy, conceived by Ed Gold, was brought to South Africa by J H Lyons, a subsidiary of SAB. The very first Wimpy opened in Murchie’s Passage in Durban and was an instant hit. Other concepts started to take root in South Africa and in 1979 a group of those pioneering franchise companies, amongst them Wimpy, Mend-a-Bath, Steers, Milky Lane, Minit Print, Juicy Lucy, Mike’s Kitchen and King Midas, got together to network, lay down some ethical business guidelines and ultimately form an association.

That was the birth of the Franchise Association of Southern Africa. Today, after almost 30 years, FASA represents franchisors, franchisees and the professional organizations that service the franchise industry. As the only recognized representative body of the rapidly growing franchise industry, FASA’s aim is to ensure that its members practice ethical franchising and that it continues to develop and expand the business environment for franchising in South Africa. Its criteria for membership conforms to international best practices and is acknowledged by government and the public at large. FASA is also a full member of the World Franchise Council.