The World Franchise Council (WFC) is a non-political association of more than 40 national franchise associations from around the world.
The WFC was founded in 1994 and is a non-profit, non-political organization that promotes the global growth of franchising and supports best practices in franchise association management. It also works to help develop franchise associations in countries without current representation.
The WFC was officially incorporated in the UK on 26th April 2005, but its beginnings can be traced right back to the first International Summit in December 1993, where a draft constitution of the WFC was proposed. The WFC has played a pivotal role in key initiatives, such as securing a unified position on the Unidroit Model Law, establishing ethical guidelines for franchise associations, and advocating for a single recognized franchise association per country.
A significant part of the WFC’s role is considering global regulatory and economic factors that could affect franchise communities. As a result, the WFC often publishes policies, in the form of declarations, which highlight universal issues raised by member nations. These are policies that should be considered by governments and stakeholders when they are shaping regulations that could impact the franchise sector.
A full list of WFC Declarations can be found here.
Our Mission:
To support the development and protection of franchising and promote a collective understanding of best practices in fair and ethical franchising worldwide.
Our Vision:
To be the leading source of credible information for and about the global franchise community and the preeminent forum for promoting collaboration and cooperation between national franchise associations.
Our Values:
- Credibility – Through Members around the world who are the single and genuine representatives of their national franchise communities.
- Respect – For the standing and diversity of each credible Member association whatever their level of resources of their time in Council Membership.
- Integrity – In the way in which the Council assures itself of the credibility its members and their proper use of the council’s name and reputation.
- Sharing – Openly and freely for the benefit of all, the experience and know-how of each.
Organization History
The WFC is a not for profit, non-political association of national franchise associations organized under the laws of the United Kingdom on April 26th, 2005.
The WFC’s beginnings can be traced to the first International Summit, sponsored by the Mexican Franchise Association December of 1993, where a draft constitution of the proposed WFC was developed by a task force composed of Argentina, Canada, Europe, France, Mexico, and The United States of America. In February of 1994, during the IFA’s Annual Convention in Las Vegas, a group of national franchise association executives led by the IFA and the European Franchise Federation unanimously decided to establish the WFC.
Following that historic Las Vegas meeting, a working group led by the British Franchise Association with representatives from the Canadian, Brazilian, Polish (a short lived association that existed at the time and which is unrelated to the PFO which has newly joined the EFF and WFC) and Mexican Associations produced a more detailed draft of the Constitution that was ultimately adopted on June 15, 1995 in Lisbon. The current Constitution of the WFC has been revised several times throughout the years.
The Constitution was drafted for the purpose of recognizing that the WFC’s most significant contributions would come from an international understanding and cooperation. The founding members of WFC believed that a formal Constitution was essential to guarantee that WFC’s opinions represent a genuine consensus amongst its members and an assurance to properly constituted national franchise associations that the WFC would offer and equitable forum for members to represent their views.
Since its inception, the WFC has achieved many milestones:
- Unidroit – the WFC secured a common position on proposals for a Model Law on franchising.
- Principles of Ethics – the WFC reached consensus on the principles that should be followed by franchise associations in developing their Code of Ethics.
- Recognition of One Association per Country – the WFC stood by its commitment, which prompted the amalgamation of associations in the Philippines and the emergence of a single recognized association in Korea.
- Legislative Support – the WFC wrote to the President of Mexico making representation in relation to a proposal to enable franchisees over a certain proportion to take ownership of their brand.