Growth Strategy & Market Adjacencies Certification

The Growth Strategy & Market Adjacencies Certification is a free advanced-level, 25-minute skill test from Science of Apps. It tests growth strategy and market adjacencies — diagnosing the core and its full potential, the Ansoff matrix, adjacency mapping by customers, products, channels, geographies and value chain, evaluating adjacencies by distance from the core, organic versus inorganic growth, new market entry and internationalisation, innovation portfolios and the three horizons, blue ocean and disruptive growth, platform plays, and resourcing and governing growth bets — written to Ansoff, Bain, McKinsey, Christensen and Kim and Mauborgne for 2026 and 2027. Score 70% or more on its 25 questions to earn a verifiable Growth Strategy & Market Adjacencies certificate (SOA-GSMA). Every question is based on published standards and research — including Bain insights (Bain & Company), McKinsey Insights and research (McKinsey & Company), Strategies for Diversification (H. Igor Ansoff, HBR 1957) (Harvard Business Review) — and each answer is explained with its source.

Science of Apps offers a free Growth Strategy & Market Adjacencies Certification, written for 2026 and 2027. It tests core and growth options, adjacency mapping and evaluation, entry modes and new markets, innovation and portfolio and executing and measuring growth with 25 original scenario questions in all, each naming its published source; you get an instant score and a verifiable certificate with a credential ID you can add to LinkedIn.

Read the five skill areas on this page, then take the 25-minute test online — no fee, course or sign-up. You see every answer explained when you finish. Score 70% or more and you get a Growth Strategy & Market Adjacencies certificate straight away, on screen, as a PDF and by email, with a credential ID anyone can verify.

Yes. The questions are original scenarios written by Science of Apps, and each one is based on a public source you can read: Bain insights (Bain & Company); McKinsey Insights and research (McKinsey & Company); Strategies for Diversification (H. Igor Ansoff, HBR 1957) (Harvard Business Review); What is Lean? (Lean Enterprise Institute); The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy (Porter, 2008) (Harvard Business Review); BCG publications and insights (Boston Consulting Group). The source is shown under each question and linked in the answer review. Science of Apps doesn't copy questions from other tests.

Five skill areas with five questions each, drawn from a bank of 10 per area so a retake brings new questions: Core and Growth Options (Full potential of the core, Ansoff matrix and Growth logic); Adjacency Mapping and Evaluation (Adjacency dimensions, Distance from the core and Evaluation criteria); Entry Modes and New Markets (Build, buy or partner, International expansion and Platforms and ecosystems); Innovation and Portfolio (Three horizons, Blue ocean and disruption and Resourcing and governance); Executing and Measuring Growth (Business cases, Organisation for growth and Learning from results). Every question is an original scenario written to the 2026–2027 standard, with the published source named under it.

Corporate strategy or business development professional, Strategy consultant, General manager or business unit leader, Private equity value creation professional and MBA student. It suits students at leading universities, career switchers and experienced professionals who want quick, verifiable proof of Growth Strategy & Market Adjacencies knowledge in 2026 and 2027.

MBB, Big 4 strategy and in-house strategy teams hire heavily from tier-1 campuses; these are the skills used day-to-day after the case interview. Passing earns a founder-signed Science of Apps certificate with a credential ID and QR code that recruiters can verify.

An adjacency is a new business area that is close to the core, sharing customers, products, channels, capabilities or value-chain position. Research by Bain found that moves one step away from a strong core succeed more often than moves several steps away.

It maps growth options by product (existing or new) and market (existing or new): market penetration, market development, product development and diversification, with risk generally increasing as you move away from existing products and markets.

Yes. The test is online, in English and free everywhere — people take it from India, the US, the UK, Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Your certificate is dated with your own local date and can be verified from anywhere at scienceofapps.com/certification/verify/.

25 questions — 5 from each of 5 skill areas — with a 25-minute limit. You need 70% (18 of 25) to pass and 90% for distinction.

We rate it Advanced: assumes years in the role or deep specialist knowledge. It has 25 scenario questions — 5 from each of 5 skill areas — and a 25-minute limit. You need 70% (18 of 25) to pass and 90% for distinction.

Nothing. There is no fee to take a test, to receive the certificate, to have it emailed or to verify it, and no sign-up.

On our server, not in your browser. The answers never reach the page until you submit, so a certificate can only be earned by passing. Each certificate gets a unique credential ID stored by Science of Apps.

You see your score for each area and every question with the correct answer and why, with the published source behind it. You can retake after 30 minutes, and the retake draws questions you haven't seen yet.

No. Every certificate is dated, so it always shows when you passed. Retake a test any time for a newer date or a higher score.

Yes. After you pass, Add to LinkedIn opens the Licenses & certifications form with the certificate name, Science of Apps as the issuer, the issue date, your credential ID and the verification link filled in. You can also download it as a PDF or PNG, and it's emailed to you as a PDF.

Every certificate has a credential ID and a QR code. Scanning it, or entering the ID at scienceofapps.com/certification/verify/, shows the holder's name, the certification, the score and the issue date from our records.

No. They are Science of Apps' own assessments of applied skill. They aren't issued by a university or standards body, and they work best alongside a portfolio that shows the skills in real work.