Medium enterprise training in Zimbabwe: plan your expansion
Ready to expand: new markets, new lines, more people and more capital? One course, Expand Your Business, takes you and your managers from where the business is today to a costed five-year Business Expansion Plan that shows whether the investment pays back.
▶▶ Watch the short introduction to the course on YouTube
Proven training, used around the world
This course is adapted for Zimbabwean conditions from the International Labour Organization’s Expand Your Business programme, part of the ILO’s Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) programme, and is delivered by SMEAZ trainers certified in it.
Owners who took this training have started businesses, created jobs and raised their profits. Read the ILO’s 2025 success stories →
The course
Expand Your Business
Where are we now, where do we want to be, how do we get there, and what is our plan: four steps that end in your own Business Expansion Plan.
Self-paced online: Available now Start the course
Webinar or live class: Live classes Join the live class list
You work on your own business throughout, not on a textbook case, and you finish by presenting your plan.
How it works
- Built with your management team. After each step you take the work back to your managers, so the plan is theirs too.
- Every function in one plan. Operations, marketing, ICT, people and finance, each tied to the expansion strategy you choose, with the investment costed and tested for payback.
- Plan Day. You present your plan to a panel and get feedback before you put it to work.
- Individual counselling included. At least a half-day session with a trainer or consultant on your draft plan.
- A review visit to your business confirms the plan is being implemented before your Certificate of Competence is issued.
- Linkages. We connect your plan to the services that deliver it: business matchmaking, tenders, export development and funding.
What it costs
| Self-paced online | Webinar | Live class (5 days) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expand Your Business | US$250 / US$300 per business | US$270 / US$320 per business | US$450 / US$500 for the owner, +US$200 each extra person attending |
Where two prices are shown, the first is for paid-up Small Enterprise, Medium Enterprise and Corporate members, and the second is for everyone else, including Standard members, Start-up members and non-members.
The self-paced and webinar price covers the owner and up to 3 managers working on one plan, the counselling session and the review visit; each extra seat is US$50. The live class is priced per person attending, because each person has venue days, printed manuals and catering. Start the self-paced course today: you name your managers and assign their areas of the plan, and each joins on their own invitation. Live classes run when a group fills: register on the course page and pay once the date and venue are confirmed.
New to SMEAZ? Start with Growth Strategy, which sets the stage of growth your expansion plan builds on. The Medium Enterprise membership adds a dedicated member consultant.
Certificates that mean something
Every course gives you two certificates, each with a number anyone can check on our website.
- Certificate of Completion: when you finish the course and your work is approved.
- Certificate of Competence: when you have put it into practice in your business, signed by the business owner or managing director. This is the one that shows a changed business, not just attendance.
Send your team
The Improve and Expand courses are also built for the people who run your business day to day: supervisors, bookkeepers, sales and administrative staff. Each person works on your business, not a textbook case, and earns a certificate in their own name once the improvement is in place. We invoice the business, at the rate for its membership.
For five or more staff we can run the course for your business alone. Message us on WhatsApp for a quote.