Waseet launches its first franchise in Africa

Published in Nigeria by Adwise Integrated Resources, a Nigerian media solutions company, under franchise from alWaseet International (AWI), a Dubai-based International publishing conglomerate, Waseet Lagos targets a 150,000 copies print run in the first phase. The franchise agreement was signed on November 10, 2008, in Dubai, between alWaseet International and Adwise, represented by its Chairman, Mr. L. Kolawole Abiola.

The publishing of Waseet in Nigeria will begin in Lagos, with plans to expand to other major cities, starting with Abuja and Port Harcourt. Waseet Lagos will have two editions right from inception - the Island and Mainland editions, and both will be published and distributed simultaneously.

Mr. John Fawaz, Managing Director of AWI said:

"Waseet Lagos fits perfectly into our aggressive expansion plan aimed at reaching 100 Waseet publications by 2012. Our plan is to franchise Waseet newspaper in Eastern Europe, Africa, India and South-East Asia. Waseet Lagos will be the 7th publication in the African continent after Egypt (5 publications) and Khartoum (Sudan)."

With a starting circulation of 150,000 copies, Fawaz predicted that Waseet will become the largest distributed newspaper in Nigeria within a short period of time. He promised that Waseet will transfer its business know-how and expertise to the (Nigerian) franchisee.

Because circulation remains the backbone of all its operations, Waseet carefully streamlined its circulation process over the past 16 years, and evolved it into the sophisticated mechanism it is today. By the end of 2008, Waseet will already have 38 editions in 12 countries, and a total circulation of around 6 million copies read by more than 22 million people every week. Recently Waseet also launched the first Waseet edition in Europe in Warsaw, Poland.