The popularity of the micro-franchising theory among practitioners in the world of international development as a development tool is steadily increasing. Through the promotion of sustainable forms of entrepreneurship at the bottom of the pyramid (BOP), it is seen as a functioning development tool that could lift people out of poverty. This assessment report for the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) aims at highlighting the benefits and limitations of the micro-franchising business model as a tool in the fight against poverty, bearing in mind that the whole concept lacks, due to its recent development, a profound theoretical framework. Building on a literature review of the (micro-) franchising theory, this paper analyses the current best practice (18 different micro-franchising projects) and uses the findings in order to provide the SDC with some food for thoughts (through two ongoing initiatives that are potentially suited to be scaled up using micro-franchising).