Launch chapters
Identify the sectors your market needs, recruit a founding member for each category seat and open the chapter with the WGN launch playbook.
Output — new chapters, one seat per category
WGN Territory Owner Programme — Founding cohort
Own the commerce networkin your market.
Build it. Lead it. Grow it.
Build the local growth infrastructure of a global commerce ecosystem — in your city. Territory Owners launch and lead WGN referral chapters for founders and C-level leaders, backed by WORLDEF's events, media and partner network.
Conversations for selected territories across Türkiye, Europe, the Gulf and Asia are open. No fees are quoted on this page — the investment band is shared in the discovery call after legal sign-off.
Proof, not promises
- founders & C-level members
- 98
- WGN · live directory
- operating chapters
- 5
- WGN · live directory
- cities with chapters
- 3
- WGN · live directory
- territories open for applications
- 18
- WGN · territory list
- attendees · WORLDEF İstanbul 2026
- 30,000+
- WORLDEF · 2026 recap
- countries represented · WORLDEF İstanbul 2026
- 80+
- WORLDEF · 2026 recap
WGN figures update automatically from the live member directory. WORLDEF figures are from the WORLDEF İstanbul 2026 recap. We publish only numbers we can verify.
01Why now
A global commerce ecosystem, looking for local builders.
WGN is the referral network inside the WORLDEF ecosystem — the cross-border e-commerce and retail platform whose summits in İstanbul, Antalya and Dubai bring founders, retail brands and decision-makers together every year. Chapters are operating in İstanbul and Dubai. The next territories will be built by owners, not by headquarters.
You inherit an ecosystem, not just a brand
Most networking franchises start from zero awareness. WGN starts inside WORLDEF: an audience of founders and C-level leaders who already attend, exhibit and speak at the events your future members know.
International expansion is underway
With chapters operating in İstanbul and Dubai, WGN is moving city by city — Türkiye first, then the Gulf, then European markets where the WORLDEF network is strongest. Territories are awarded in order, to one owner each.
The founding cohort sets the standard
The first Territory Owners work directly with the WGN Central Board, shape the playbook they will later teach, and become the reference cases for every owner who follows.
WORLDEF — the first-party audience
The advantage most new franchisors never have.
Territory Owners don't buy a stand at a franchise fair. They are already inside WORLDEF's events, media and partner network — the place where the founders, exhibitors and sponsors of your market meet.
- attendeesWORLDEF İstanbul 2026
- 30,000+
- speakersWORLDEF İstanbul 2026
- 200+
- retail brandsWORLDEF İstanbul 2026
- 500+
- countriesWORLDEF İstanbul 2026
- 80+
Where the next conversations happen
Events
Three summits a year where your market's founders already gather.
Media
WORLDEF's channels carry WGN chapter launches and owner stories.
Partners
Exhibitors, sponsors and retail brands become warm introductions.
Founder audience
Decision-makers who understand the referral economy before you pitch it.
02The owner role
You don't run meetings. You build the room.
A WGN Territory Owner is the founder of a local business ecosystem: you launch chapters, recruit the founding members, develop the leaders who run each chapter and grow membership across a defined territory — with the WORLDEF ecosystem behind you.
Develop leaders
Every chapter is run by its own leadership team. You select, train and coach them with WGN Academy tracks so chapters run without you in the room.
Output — chapter leadership teams
Grow membership
Visitors become members, members renew, referrals get tracked. You own the pipeline and the renewal rhythm of your territory.
Output — membership growth and renewals
Develop the territory
Bridge WORLDEF's global commerce network and your city: events, partners and introductions that give your members reasons to stay.
Output — a territory with its own gravity
A chapter month
Three online. One in person.
- Online
- Online
- Online
- In person
Each WGN chapter meets to a fixed cadence — three online meetings and one physical meeting per month — so members know exactly what they get and leadership teams can run it.
- What the role is
- A leadership and business-development role
- Hands-on in the first chapters, then through leadership teams
- Accountable for chapter health, renewals and pipeline
- Part of a global programme with central standards
- What it is not
- Not a passive investment
- Not an events company — meetings are the means, referrals the product
- Not a solo act — WGN coaching and systems stay with you
- Not inventory, real estate or supply chain
03The economics model
A membership-driven, recurring model.
WGN territories are built on annual memberships, renewed inside chapters that meet to a fixed cadence. The structure scales through systems, territory and leadership capacity — not through stock, stores or headcount.
- 03Territoryowner · leadership teams · WORLDEF bridge
- 02Chapters3 online + 1 in-person meetings a month
- 01Membersannual memberships · one seat per category
- Recurring · Renewal cycle · 12 months
- No inventory
- The product is a trusted room and tracked referrals.
- No real estate
- Chapters meet online and in venues, not in a store you lease.
- No supply chain
- Systems, coaching and content come from WGN headquarters.
What the model is built on
- Annual memberships inside your territory, one representative per category
- Chapter and leadership capacity — the more chapters you open and keep healthy, the more members you serve
- Central standards: membership criteria, chapter launch and category rules are kept by the WGN Central Board
- Franchise and master-franchise structures, depending on territory and country
The investment band
After legal sign-offWe don't publish fees, royalties or investment ranges on a landing page, and we don't make earnings projections — anywhere. The full picture — initial fee, ongoing contributions, working capital and the territory data room — is walked through in the discovery call, once the legal documentation for your country is complete.
Book a Territory Fit CallNothing on this page is a financial performance representation. See the disclosure note at the bottom of the page.
04Territories
Open, in development, awarded.
Territories are awarded one owner at a time, in the order the ecosystem is ready for them. Availability changes as conversations close — the map updates with the territory list.
OpenIn developmentAwarded · operating
18 open · 4 in development · 1 awarded
Regions
OpenTürkiye & Caucasus
Ankara
Single territory — master-franchise rights for the country on request
Ask about AnkaraStatus reflects the WGN territory list and is updated as territories are awarded.
Your market isn't listed? Name it in the application.05The ideal candidate
Less an investor. More a builder.
We are looking for leaders who are already connected in their city, can organise people, have the capital and runway to build for twelve months, and will give the territory their active time. Franchise experience is not required; the ability to build a community is.
Not required: prior franchise ownership, a networking-industry background, or a team on day one.
Network
A real local relationship capital — founders, associations, chambers, ecosystems you can call.
Leadership
You have led teams or communities and can hold a room of senior people.
Capital
Financial capacity for the initial investment plus a twelve-month runway.
Execution
Business-plan discipline, KPI habits and a record of finishing what you start.
Candidate scorecard — how we weigh a profile
Select a criterion to see what we look for and how we verify it.
25% weight
What we look for
Standing in your market: founder circles, associations, chambers, ecosystem access; warm introductions you could make this month.
How we verify
Associations and roles, founder network, LinkedIn footprint, references, sample introductions.
20% weight
20% weight
15% weight
10% weight
10% weight
75+ → due diligence · 60–74 → development track · below 60 → not progressed
Hard gates
Four gates no score can override
A high network score does not move a candidate past a failed gate.
- Gate 01
Financial minimum
Capacity to fund the territory and the twelve-month runway.
- Gate 02
KYC, sanctions & background
Clear checks on identity, sanctions lists and criminal record.
- Gate 03
Brand & ethics fit
Alignment with WGN's values and the WORLDEF ecosystem's standards.
- Gate 04
Active time
You personally lead the territory — this is not a passive holding.
06The owner journey
Six stages. No surprises.
Every candidate goes through the same path, in the same order. You will know at each stage what we have seen, what comes next and what you will receive.
A short territory interest form
- Duration
- 5 minutes
- Format
- Online, four steps
- Who
- You
Name, company, the territory you have in mind, your background and how you are connected to WGN or WORLDEF. No bank statements, no business plan yet.
What you receive
- A personal reply from Franchise Development
- A discovery-call slot if the hard gates look clear
What we ask
- Market of interest and scope: single territory or country
- Your professional background and involvement
Documents at this stage
- Territory interest form
Durations are typical process estimates, not commitments, and vary by country and candidate.
Start at step one
Applying starts a conversation, not a commitment.
07Support stack
You are not left to figure it out alone.
Every Territory Owner stands on the same five layers: a coach and a playbook, a learning system for leaders, a communications and referral platform, a meeting platform and performance dashboards. Select a layer to see what it does for you.
Layer 01 — What it does for you
Coaching & launch playbook
A named partner manager works your numbers with you — chapter health, renewals, pipeline — and the launch playbook sets the milestones for recruiting, launching and stabilising your first chapters.
You get
- A single point of contact at WGN
- Step-by-step launch milestones for the first twelve months
- Leadership-development tracks for you and your chapter leaders
WGN people
Section A–A · the owner support stack
Questions owners ask08FAQ
Questions owners ask before the first call.
Straight answers, including the ones that say ‘we’ll tell you in the call’ — and why.
Something else? Contact usIt depends on the territory, its size and whether you take a single territory or master-franchise rights for a country. We share the investment band — initial fee, ongoing contributions and working capital — in the discovery call, after the legal documentation for your country is complete. We do not publish fees on a web page, and we never provide earnings projections.
Territory Fit Call — 20–30 minutes
Don’t just join a network in your city. Build it.
Tell us about yourself and the territory you have in mind. A member of the Franchise Development team replies personally and books the call.
- No fees quoted online
- Two-way conversation
- Reply from a person
Prefer to ask first?Contact us
Meeting us at WORLDEF Prime Antalya or WORLDEF Dubai? Mention it in the form — private discovery sessions run by appointment.
Financial performance
Nothing on this page is a representation of actual or potential sales, income, profit or earnings of a WGN territory or franchise. WGN does not provide earnings projections, and no WGN representative is authorised to make them. Any figures discussed with you will be provided in writing, with their basis, through the applicable disclosure process.
Country-specific disclosure
Franchise definition, pre-sale disclosure, registration and cooling-off requirements vary by country. Where they apply, you will receive the required disclosure documents before any agreement is signed or any payment is made. This page is an invitation to start a conversation, not an offer to sell a franchise in any jurisdiction where such an offer requires prior registration or disclosure that has not been completed.
Privacy
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WGN — WORLDEF Growth Network · part of the WORLDEF ecosystem