Dumisani Bengu, Head: Franchise Africa, Barclays Africa With South Africa’s economy seeing consecutive negative growth that has placed it in the grips of a technical – but very real – recession, it will come as no surprise that there are adverse implications for business growth as customers keep on cutting their spending and tightening that much-written-about belt. One industry that has successfully fought these headwinds is franchising. It has proven in many countries, to be resilient even in the face of extensive macroeconomic difficulties. This is borne out by the fact that the sector - which grew by 10 percent even at the height of the global financial crisis in 2008 and 2009 - has continued to grow every year.  Year-to-date, Absa’s franchise book has  shown 15 percent growth on loans over the same period last year. This illustrates a remarkably healthy appetite for franchising and pursuing opportunities in the various industries that comprise the overall sector. ...