VAN NUYS, Calif., Nov. 14, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tutor Doctor, a worldwide tutoring franchise that provides individualized home-based instruction to learners of all ages, recently announced the opening of its first franchise location in North Africa.
The signed agreement is a result of a successful visit to Tunisia in March 2013 for the Tunisian Franchise Expo, Tunis MedFranchise Expo 2013, supported by the International Franchise Association (IFA), the U.S. State Department, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and the Middle East Investment Initiative (MEII). Tutor Doctor was the only North American franchise to attend the expo in person.
"As a market that is rapidly creating new opportunities for entrepreneurship, Tunisia is a great growth market for our brand," said Rogelio Martinez, Vice President of International Franchise Development for Tutor Doctor. "This is the place of birth of the Arab Spring Revolution; this is a country where people want change. One of the best ways to create change is to give people opportunities to have better education to help them aspire more in life. This is what Tutor Doctor is all about."
Leading the expansion in North Africa are franchise owners, and brother and sister, Asma Belgaied Hassine and Tahar Belgaied Hassine. Prior to investing in a Tutor Doctor franchise, Asma was working as a team manager for Lyxor Asset Management, a subsidiary of Société Générale, the second largest French bank. She studied in Tunisia until the age of 18 and then moved to France where she received a PhD in Applied Mathematics and a master's degree in Applied Mathematics, both from Ecole Centrale Paris. Her brother, Tahar, is currently a field force manager for a pharmaceutical company in Tunis. He received his MD from the MD school of medicine of Tunis and he is expecting to receive his MBA in 2014 from the Université de Quebec à Montréal. Another interesting fact about Tahar is that he is fluent in four different languages including Arabic, French, English and Italian.
"We are thrilled to have launched operations in Tunisia with two astounding franchise owners," said Frank Milner, President of Tutor Doctor. "Tunisia is an untapped franchise market and now, with the help of the Middle East Investment Initiative, more qualified candidates will be able to pursue their dreams of becoming a business owner."
Tutor Doctor has over 370 franchised territories worldwide with locations in Canada, the United States, Latin America, the United Kingdom, the Middle East and the Caribbean. The company will also be exploring Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa as a part of the Franchise Trade Mission co-sponsored by the IFA. Tutor Doctor is planning to open at least two more offices in Africa within the next three months.
"Tunisia, the Pearl of North Africa, has always been in the cross-roads of different civilizations and is the birth-land of science and literature," said Asma Belgaied Hassine. "Nowadays, in this emerging country, knowledge continues to be the key to the future. We strongly believe that giving the best tutoring support for the best value is what we need in Tunisia and Tutor Doctor is giving us this opportunity. When we first met Rogelio from Tutor Doctor, we were charmed by the idea of opening our own Tutor Doctor franchise and we knew that it was exactly what we were looking for."
About Tutor Doctor
Tutor Doctor was founded in 2000 as an alternative to the "one-to-many" teaching model most extra-curricular learning centers offer by providing a personalized one-on-one, in-home tutoring service to students. The company quickly grew and in 2003 turned to franchising as a way of expanding the company's impact and meeting the vast market demand. Now with offices internationally in Canada, the United States, Latin America, the United Kingdom, Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean, the Tutor Doctor vision is becoming a reality as the lives of students and their families are being positively impacted throughout the world. With over 370 franchised territories worldwide, Tutor Doctor was listed by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the fastest growing franchise brands. For more information about Tutor Doctor visit the web site at www.tutordoctor.com .
Media Contact: Holly Kleese, Fishman Public Relations (847) 945-1300 x257
