Yum! Brands and the University of Louisville Announce First-of-its-Kind Education and Research Center to Unlock Opportunities in Franchising for Underrepresented People of Color and Women - Seite 2

The Yum! Center for Global Franchise Excellence builds on UofL’s existing franchising education tracks within the College of Business, which include a graduate program and an executive-level Franchise Management Certificate. New to the Center is an undergraduate franchising track within the Bachelor of Business Administration program that launched in the Spring 2021 semester. The Center’s curriculum development will continue to be led by franchising industry alumni and business experts at UofL with subject matter experts at Yum! Brands providing resources, up-to-date information and powerful industry insights on the state of franchising. In addition, to improve equity for underrepresented people of color and women, the Center will:

• actively recruit diverse students to its undergraduate, graduate and executive-level programs offered through the College of Business;
• conduct research to develop new knowledge surrounding franchise ownership, including case studies, white papers and other work to better understand the reasons for lower ownership by underrepresented people of color and women;
• create regular podcasts and a practitioner-focused journal to share franchising education and news with franchise owners and managers.

“Franchising is one of the best paths to entrepreneurship, creating an opportunity to build generational wealth,” said Kathleen Gosser, Ph.D., executive-in-residence in the UofL College of Business, where the Center will be based. “Franchise ownership among underrepresented people of color and women is lower than their representation in the population. Our goal is to uncover and reduce barriers to franchise ownership, starting with education.”

The franchising model is strong in the U.S. and globally and makes business ownership accessible to many individuals. By the end of 2021, the International Franchise Association projects the franchising industry will increase to more than 780,000 outlets employing 8.2 million people in the U.S. alone.

“Partnering with UofL on the Yum! Center for Global Franchise Excellence allows Yum! Brands to amplify our world-class franchising model and give more people access to the franchising world and the ability to create generational wealth and a legacy,” said Wanda Williams, Head of Yum! Global Franchising. “Access to the program will also be a wonderful opportunity for new franchisees entering the Yum! Brands system as well as for employees who want to become business owners.”