Home services franchise My Home Watch has a new growth plan as it heads to South Africa for its first expansion outside Australia.

It’s the latest development for the franchise which has only been in business since 2017. Like many business ideas it came into being to solve a problem, in this case keeping an eye on property while owners are absent.

Now the services business is exploring its potential overseas with a new franchisor appointed in southern Africa. The franchise will be available in South Africa,  Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and Mozambique.

My Home Watch founder Natasha Morgan recently packaged all the extra services the business had developed into one easy package for franchisees.

However she told Inside Franchise Business the first step to growing the business overseas is to start with the original My Home Watch service.

Just as in Australia, safety and security conscious residents will be the target customers in the African marketplace.

She is confident the first step to a new continent will prove fruitful with the strong franchise presence in South Africa.

“Despite all the current economic challenges, franchising continues to be successful in South Africa, and there’s certainly room for our services and My Home Watch brand,” she said.

“The sector is, in fact, a vital part of the backbone of the country’s economy like most countries. South Africa has more than 680 franchised systems, more than 30 000 franchise outlets and  17 franchise business sectors.”

Morgan said the franchise sector employs more than 300 000 people and there are high expectations for the South African business.

“We have been testing the market for close to a year with a range of marketing including tv commercials with franchise registrations being in the hundreds,” she said.