American Franchise Academy Marks 10 Years

American Franchise Academy is marking its 10th anniversary with more than 600 program graduates, 400-plus district manager certifications and a YouTube audience of more than 19,000 subscribers. Founded by Aicha Bascaro after a struggling franchisee sought help, the academy provides business management training for franchisees and their teams. Its MANAGE, LEAD and COMMAND programs serve single-unit operators, unit managers, district managers and multi-unit franchisees. The company is also developing multilingual programs and expanding its work with franchisors.

Training Beyond Brand Operations

Bascaro began in franchising in 1987 as a pizza delivery driver at a Domino’s in Dallas, Texas. Her career included roles as a crew member, manager, international consultant, director of operations, vice president and brand president, with oversight of more than 300 locations across the US.

The academy’s courses focus on the business side of franchise ownership. MANAGE covers business management for single-unit franchisees and unit managers. LEAD is a district manager certification for multi-unit leadership, while COMMAND is the academy’s full program for franchisees looking to lead and scale their businesses.

“Franchisors provide the brand and train people to operate it, but they can't provide the business acumen. That's where we come in, to train them on how to lead a franchise and grow,”

Graduate And Audience Milestones

American Franchise Academy reports that it has certified more than 400 district managers, 200 unit managers and around 100 franchisees. Participants have come from brands including McDonald’s, Popeyes, Dairy Queen, Subway, Dunkin’ and Anytime Fitness.

Bascaro has also written three Amazon bestselling books, publishes a weekly franchise-focused blog and hosts the Franchise Success Formulas podcast, which has more than 19,000 YouTube subscribers.

Plans For Wider Access

The academy is developing multilingual training programs for franchise operators worldwide. It is also building a franchisor partnership strategy intended to help brands offer structured business education across their networks through a third-party model.

“The next 10 years will be louder, wider, and in more languages. The work is just getting started.”