Business Growth & Resilience

Business Growth & Resilience

Strengthening MSMEs to adapt, compete and grow.

Practical business-growth programs developed for MSME owners and the realities of their markets.

Explore the programs

Katalyst-designed. Real-world grounded.

A Lao business leader speaking at Katalyst Business Mastery

Built for business reality

Built around the realities of doing business.

Katalyst has developed and launched its own MSME initiatives—working with business owners, private-sector partners and the wider business-support ecosystem to strengthen the capabilities businesses need to survive, adapt and grow.

The programs have ranged from intensive business-growth events to marketing capability and longer-term mentoring support.

01Strengthen the business

Build clearer plans, manage finances and focus growth priorities.

02Market more effectively

Understand customers, tell a stronger story and choose the right channels.

03Adapt and move forward

Rethink the business model, test ideas and build resilience.

01 / Business capability

Katalyst Business Mastery®

Practical tools for stronger businesses.

Katalyst Business Mastery® (KBM) was created to give Lao business owners practical tools and strategies they could immediately use to strengthen and grow their businesses.

Across two major events in 2022, more than 120 MSMEs worked on areas including business planning, financial management, innovation, marketing, sales and identifying priorities for future growth.

The highly interactive format combined practical tools, peer learning and contributions from leading Lao entrepreneurs and business-support organizations.

  • Business planning
  • Financial management
  • Innovation
  • Marketing & sales
  • Growth priorities
Lao entrepreneurs taking part in a Katalyst Business Mastery event
Two major events · 2022

02 / Marketing capability

Katalyst Marketing Mastery®

Turning better marketing into better business results.

Launched in 2023, Katalyst Marketing Mastery® (KMM) brought together around 120 business owners, marketers and team members for a highly practical day focused on strengthening both online and offline marketing.

Developed with Bearketing, the program combined insights from leading Lao marketing practitioners with Katalyst-designed exercises that helped participants apply those ideas to their own businesses.

  • Customer targeting
  • Business storytelling
  • Marketing channels
  • Campaign planning
  • Practical marketing strategy

BizGrow collaboration poster showing participating Lao businesses and program partners

03 / Resilience & adaptation

BizGrow

Helping businesses rethink, adapt and move forward.

Launched during the disruption of COVID-19, BizGrow was developed by Katalyst in collaboration with Maruhan Japan Bank and supported by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the Department of SME Promotion.

The pilot supported 20 Lao MSMEs to examine their business models, identify new opportunities and strengthen their resilience.

Participants worked through business-model analysis, innovation and idea testing, alongside areas such as digitalization and people management. The original model also combined workshops with ongoing mentoring so businesses could continue turning ideas into action beyond the classroom.

Developed withMaruhan Japan BankSupported by MOIC & DOSMEP

How we work

Built around real business challenges.

Rather than teaching entrepreneurship as theory, Katalyst works with business owners on the decisions, customers, markets and challenges they are dealing with now.

  1. 01Understand the business
  2. 02Identify the opportunity
  3. 03Choose priorities
  4. 04Test ideas
  5. 05Build an action plan
  6. 06Put it into practice

Take the next step

Ready to strengthen your business?

Whether you need stronger planning, clearer marketing or a more resilient business model, Katalyst programs help you turn practical ideas into action.

Talk to Katalyst