The global explosion of franchising in the last 50 or so years has been one of the most positive developments for entrepreneurship in recent times. Made popular by the likes of McDonald’s and Burger King, franchising in 2010 include almost any kind of business imaginable. That entrepreneurial desire to work independently, but with the helping hand of a corporate structure has spurred the rapid growth of franchising.

I was travelling through India recently and I was hugely excited to see how franchising would function in there. We in the West read and hear so much about the vaunted Indian economy and that 21st century will belong to the likes of India and China. I know there are a lot of growing American franchises hoping to expand in the Indian marketplace, and I tried to gain a sense of what they could expect when they arrive in Bangalore or Chennai.

My first reaction was a certain sense of astonishment at how strongly consumers had taken to food franchises, especially American ones. I visited a McDonald’s near the Fort in Mumbai on a weekday evening and there was hardly a seat available at the outdoor patio. I found similar crowds at a KFC in New Delhi and a Subway. While western visitors to India might be more curious about the local culinary delicacies that vendors sell at the side of the road, the reverse seemed to be true to with young, middle class Indians. There was a certain cachet in having a McAloo Puff.

The fact that the likes of McDonald’s have removed beef and pork products from their menu shows how far franchises are willing to go to court the Indian audience. There are a lot of cultural differences that separate America and India, but the success of McDonald’s, KFC and Domino’s shows that those differences can be bridged easily.

Of course, I saw many Indian franchises as well. One of the interesting things for an outsider to witness in India is the sense of the entrepreneurial spirit. In Mumbai, there were so many small businesses operating on every street corner. Franchising is simply the evolution of that capitalistic drive and it was great to see the likes of Chhabra 555, Khyber and Orion CallTech in action. From growing up in New Jersey alongside many smart and driven first-generation Indians, it was also fascinating to witness the growth of the education franchise sector in India.

The future seems ripe for Indian franchising. Foreign companies will continue to be attracted to this country and its more than one billion inhabitants. And with the growing Indian middle class, one can only assume that more and more Indian businesses will become franchised in the near future, as consumers become more brand-driven. Having spent ten days in India, I couldn’t have been more excited about what the future holds for franchising in India.