The decline of employment globally with various countries and economies either in recession, post recession or on the brink of recession is a serious concern to governments, the private sector, civic organizations and the general population. Associated with this decline are dynamics of poverty, food insecurity, maladministration and corruption, civil war, and a new world order. Governments are now looking to implement and support successful solutions that have been tried and tested. It has been identified that franchising is successful solution that is on the increase globally. Franchising is a multibillion dollar revenue creator globally and accounts significantly for employment. The automotive sector is growing at an unprecedented rate with the greater number of motor cycles, cars, taxis, busses and trucks on the road. The Midas franchise is the second fastest growing franchise in South Africa. There are more than two hundred and twenty franchises in South Africa and surrounding countries. The aim of this research study is to investigate if franchising provides entrepreneurs, especially new business owners a more secure business start up, and to assess the success of the Midas franchise. The research methodology adopted in this study adopts a qualitative research method. The instruments used to obtain data are questionnaires, face to face interviews, observation and photography. The study area encompasses franchisees from the eThekwini Municipal area. Six Midas franchisees and the KZN regional Midas franchisor have been interviewed. The findings have proven to be remarkable, supporting the hypothesis which states that franchising is a successful tool to assist entrepreneurs. Most entrepreneurs have citied their contentment with being with a franchisee and their optimism to venture into more franchises. The franchisor boasted their rapid expansion in South Africa. There were also recommendations arising out of the study so as to enhance entrepreneurship and franchising in South Africa. / MBA University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2012.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the perceptions of emerging black entrepreneurs on their ability to access government contract work with special reference to that outsourced by the Department of Economic Development and Tourism in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal. The study was based on the assumption that black emerging entrepreneurs are side lined by the procurement systems and processes of government, despite the fact when the new government took over after the democratic elections of 1994, it formulated legislation and policies and provided institutional framework to ensure that enterprises belonging to entrepreneurs of African descent in particular were brought into the economic mainstream activities of the country. The study utilized an exploratory description research design owing to publicity of literature on the effectiveness of government's procurement intervention strategies in addressing the needs of emerging black entrepreneurs. The study used two samples drawn from two research populations. In the first sample the population consisted of thirty-two tender submissions that emerging black entrepreneurs forwarded to the Department of Economic Development and Tourism in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal, in response to contract work or tenders advertised and evaluated by the Tender Evaluation Committee and the Tender Award Committee of the Department during the financial year 2001/2. An instrument was developed to elicit data from the tender documents for the purpose of orders. In the second sample the research population consisted of sixteen emerging black entrepreneurs whose tender documents submitted in response to the tenders outsourced by the Department during the financial year 2001/2 were evaluated by the Department's Tender Evaluation Committee and tender Award Committee during the period in question. The questionnaire was used to elicit information on the perceptions of emerging black entrepreneurs with regard to their level of participation in the procurement process of the Department. The findings of the study are supportive of the guiding questions and assumptions advanced for the purpose of focusing the study. The finding was that black emerging entrepreneurs perceived themselves to be non-participants in the procurement activities of the Department. The study also found the existence of structural problem, which acted as barriers to active participation, of black emerging entrepreneurs, in the outsourcing activities of the Department of Economic Development and Tourism in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.