European franchisors that are looking to expand their networks outside the Continent tend to concentrate on countries with large GDP, however they could benefit from considering smaller economic nations. This is due to the fact that the Brazilian Franchise Association has recently disclosed that Brazil is one of the biggest franchising countries in the world.

Rodrigo Martins Faria, of the Brazil Franchise Association, commented: 'The Brazilian franchise industry has grown on average of 15 per cent a year, which is a significant rate of the national GDP. According to the World Franchise Council, Brazil is about the fourth biggest franchise markets in the world. Brazil has 1,197 brands and more than 65,000 outlets, which created more than 22,000 new jobs a year, totalling today at 586,000 employees.'

Published: 14 August 2008

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