UNPRME (United Nations Principles of Responsible Management Education) - Nicaragua

Geoffrey Archer went to Tanzania to set up microfranchising trials in rural communities, and it became a two-year foray into microfranchising.

How can a small country help alleviate poverty and improve the lives of the population? How can people in rural areas get access to cutting-edge business education, so that they can start up and run a successful business? Geoffrey Archer thinks the answer is something called "microfranchising."

Where the traditional franchise model is typically an enterprise with a proven business model, microfranchising applies the same replication of proven business model, writ small. Not only can microfranchises help alleviate poverty by using tried-and-true business methods, microfranchises can also provide a springboard for entrepreneurs to gain experience before opening their own venture.

In 2010, Archer went to Tanzania to set up microfranchising trials in rural communities there. He was invited to share his story, and the lessons he learned in what eventually became a two-year foray into microfranchising, at the UN’s Principles for Responsible Management Education in 2014.