The BasicNeeds model is designed to address mental illness at a community level, providing education, training, and care and bring together a network of organizations and individuals to provide better resources for the end users. The model is designed around five core modules and aims to achieve impact in the areas of capacity building, community mental health service delivery, improved livelihoods, and policy change/domestic resource mobilization. BasicNeeds launched its social franchise system in January 2014. It is aimed at supporting independent organizations (such as international non-government organisations, in-country NGOs or country governments) operating predominantly in low or middle income countries to take on the delivery of the model.Scaling up of the BasicNeeds Mental Health and Development model through a social franchise approach