Marketers Association of Zimbabwe continues to cement its profile as one of the top training institutions in the country with over 3 000 Digital Marketers having passed through the institution.

MAZ began the year on a good note by hosting a graduation ceremony of 92 students graduating with a Professional Certificate in Digital Marketing.

The graduation ceremony was for two classes, the May and July 2022 intakes.

On January 27, the graduates together with facilitators, family and friends came to celebrate the successful completion of their studies at a colourful ceremony at the Marketers Hub.

Guest of honour at the event, Mr Admire Ndumo, who is a board member for MAZ and is also the Operations Manager for Nissan Zimbabwe, highlighted that the Digital Marketing program had grown significantly over the years.

“The Digital Marketing program which is a 6 – month programme was introduced in 2016 and has seen over 3000 participants graduating. The 6 month programme was initially targeted at those who are responsible for implementing Digital Media Campaigns for their organisations or for their own business but it is open to those who want in-depth knowledge in the field and also want to enhance their qualifications. It is designed for individuals ready to expand their skills set in today’s internet driven market,” he said.

Mr Ndumo pointed the program had become popular among the young generation as evidenced by the enthusiasm shown by their generation through enrolling on the course and this showed the trust they placed in MAZ to take charge of their professional development in the digital space.

The guest speaker added that use of digital tools was now the in thing in the marketing forum than the traditional means of marketing.

“Our consumers are now mostly found in those spaces and our products also have to move to the digital spaces and this qualifies why we need to constantly update our digital skills,” he said.

He added: “Marketing products on the digital spaces is not a walk in the park, as customers experiences can be shared globally. A snide comment about your products or service can attract hundreds of other followers who will share their customer experience hence the need to also improve our service on the digital platforms,”.

He urged the graduates to utilise the skills acquired during the training as it was meant to equip them with practical knowledge on how to handle digital media on day to day basis and revenue creation.

He praised MAZ as a pacesetter in training Digital Marketing in Zimbabwe, as well as exhibiting exemplary professionalism in conducting the program since 2016.

MAZ Executive Secretary Mr Gillian Rusike told the graduates that MAZ would be officially launching MAZ Business Institute.

“We will soon be launching the MAZ Business Institute (MAZ BI) which will house the MAZ Institute of Digital Practitioners (MIDP) Sales Institute and Customer Service Institute. I therefore encourage each and every one of you to join at least one of these institutes so that you get affiliated to a professional body that is established to advance the interests of all digital practitioners”, he said.

To buttress Mr Rusike’s, MAZ Training Manager, Mr Felix Mambondiani remarked that the institute had lined up a number of programs on their 2023 training calendar. A 12 months long National Certificate in Sales and Marketing Management was at enrolment stage with the aim of developing sales, marketing assistants and entrepreneurs with basic knowledge in sales and marketing. The qualification is HEXCO certified.

He highlighted that a Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing run in partnership with Harare Institute of Techology (HIT) would also be running targeting career digital marketers, school leavers and digital marketing certificate holders.

Other programs being run by the institute were the  ZimChartered Marketer and Customer Experience Management programs all starting within the first quarter of the year.

The event was capped by music from one of the graduands, Agga Nyabinde, son to the popular musician Bob Nyabide who did a solo performance playing renditions of his father’s songs.

Another notable personality among the graduates was Sports presenter and personality Yvonne Mangunda, who also graduated with a certificate in  Digital Marketer on the day.