Kimberly Paidamoyo Manonose
In a society where women are often discouraged from entering physically demanding trades, one young woman is steadily carving her name into Zimbabwe’s tombstone industry.
Inspired by a dream and driven by her desire to honour her father, she launched a tombstone-making business, that is now gaining recognition for quality craftsmanship and heartfelt service.
Her story is not just about stone, it is about courage, faith and rewriting the narrative of what young women can achieve. To know more about this young business woman, our reporter MUNYARADZI BLESSING DOMA (MBD) talked to KIMBERLY PAIDAMOYO MANONOSE (KPM) on her journey.
Read on…
MBD: Can you tell me brief background?
KPM: My name is Kimberly Paidamoyo Manonose. I’m now using my marital surname, I used to go by the name of Kimberly Paidamoyo Burombo. I am 26 years of age. I was born in Zimbabwe, grew up in Harare, in Mufakose. But I later went on to South Africa for my high school, that was in 2012. That’s when I started doing my grade 8 till I was done with my Matric in 2016. Then I went further with my studies. I studied Culinary Arts, Hospitality and Tourism. Then I did Auxiliary Nursing for about a year or so at Westgate 24 Hour. I was also in the Hospitality business. I worked in a restaurant for a year, then I opened my own pizza restaurant, in SA, I then left it and came to Zimbabwe.
MBD: What inspired you to start your tombstone making business?
KPM: Officially in 2020 when Covid was starting, that’s when I had this dream. God gave me this dream. I didn’t want to do a tombstone business, but I wanted to further my dad’s name. So I thought to myself, what can I do to further his name? That’s when this dream came because it had been 11 years without having a tombstone for my dad, he had passed on in 2009. That’s when I thought about it and I said thank you God for giving me this idea. That’s when the birth of Tafadzwa Memorial Services came. Before I even started it, I had to jot it down in my journal, I prayed about it. God started giving me visions on how to do it and how to manoeuvre in the industry. I dreamed of this in February 2020 then in July, that’s when the business came to life; that was 20 July 2020. That’s when we opened Tafadzwa Memorial Services. That’s when we did our first stone. From there we started penetrating the industry and so forth. I wanted something that made people feel that they are still connected to their loved ones. I wanted to give people memorial services that were heartfelt, with an understanding of grief inside. We talk to families, different kinds of problems, there are a lot of things that happen in erecting a tombstone. They are just not simple procedures like what people think that you just come and pay for the stone. There are a lot of traditions that need to be done and so forth. I have been in the business for six years now and we thank God for that.
MBD: What are the challenges you have faced? Did you ever feel like giving up, what kept you going?
KPM: I have faced a lot of challenges a lot of them, especially when it comes to clients when you do the job for them, some might keep on changing things, whilst you have a deadline to meet. And also other clients just don’t want to pay, I really faced that challenge in 2024. It was hard for me. We did a tombstone for this other certain family, actually there were three of them in 2024. And they reassured me that they would bring the money because they were saying things are hard for them since they were doing those things without support. And I understood them but they didn’t pay up, that was a breaking point for me. And up until today, it’s 2026, we haven’t gotten that money. But God works in mysterious ways. A client can just come and say Kimberly, I just need to give you this, this, this and that. That very same year that I lost that certain amount, it came back times two. A client just gave me money. And they said Kimberly, we no longer need the tombstone, thank you for your services. You can have the tombstone and the balance. Because we already know that you had done something and you are taking your time to do our work and we are pleased with the work. So for me, I feel like God does his things in his own ways. My heart is no longer beating to those certain people that didn’t come forth with their payments. Then yes, I have felt like giving up a lot of times when I have faced difficult clients, its business after all. So I actually thank God for those clients because they were blessing in disguise that I actually learned something from that.
MBD: How did you raise capital for your business?
KPM: This is the most beautiful thing that God did for me. I was turning 21 in 2020 then my mom said, what do you want for your birthday? And she gave me money for a birthday party. And I told her, you know what? I need to do a tombstone for my dad. So the first client was Nathaniel Tafadzwa Burombo; that was my dad; that was my first client. I was my own first client. I turned my dreams into reality. So I was my first client, I believed in Tafadzwa Memorial Services. And my then boyfriend, who is now my husband, helped to turn my dreams into reality up until to date. He financed with all he had, he invested in it, he believed in my dreams, he actually resigned from his workplace so that he gets that money. It was during Covid time so we were not certain if people are going to go back to work, if things are going to go back to normal. He did a lot, be it him being on the ground, teaching me operations because he is an accountant. So he had to teach me some of those accountant things. I didn’t know how to run a business, he helped me with the ideas. He was just there hands on. That money he gave to me, I invested in equipment. I invested even the land that I’m at right now. He is the one who organised it for me, I don’t know how. May the good Lord bless him with everything that he has been doing for me, may he remember his dreams. And even family, I have got my Aunt Doreen who introduced me to the Facebook market, she is the one who introduced me to all of that, so bless her as well. So that’s how people came and that’s how Tafadzwa was introduced, we used to market online. And before I had my own place, I was a middleman. I would advertise my work on Facebook, then find people to do it for me in Rugare. Unfortunately that man passed on but he was so good to me, Bohlingers. He used to be my third man. He used to make the stones for me, then I sold them to clients, pay him, till I had to build my own base and find my own place. So we actually had an agreement to that. He knew that I did not have a base. So that’s where I started from. So yeah, it was quite an interesting adventure for us to be where we are today.
MBD: As a woman, did you face any specific barriers in this industry which I feel is male dominated?
KPM: To be honest enough, no. I did not face any barriers of any sorts. God helped me to be where I am today. Wherever I went, whatever I did, I found favour. I found favour till today. I have my own clients that I have and I am grateful for that. And we work according to God’s plan all the time, every year. Me and my workers, even the ones that I had before, we used to pray and say, you know what God, this is your job, you gave it to us; may you be the provider. With God, everything just becomes favourable. I think that’s what I can say on this issue. I haven’t had any barriers, to be honest that are intense.
MBD: Are you involved in the actual operations, like working on the tombstones?
KPM: Yes, I used to be so involved and I am sometimes a bit involved if there’s a lot of pressure, but I have men that I work with, they are so good, we try to be on time, we tell our clients that we will be done with your product in seven days, but we know that we can actually finish this type of stone in a day or so, so we don’t want to give a client days that we are not able to meet or sell them dreams, whilst anything can happen during those days that we can finish the work. So we actually say that, we give you seven working days excluding weekends, so that we can do your product. This gives me time to be hands on, to make sure the workmanship is like a 100 percent. I’m actually good at polishing, having the final product, like putting it on the final product for it to be on the display, that’s what I’m able to do. I’m more on the polishing part, cutting, yes sometimes, but I am not that good. So I have got a gentleman who does that for me, bless him, he does perfect work and I also have guys who polish for me and I taught them all to do that. There are some times that I’m always hands on, maybe designing, I design like a lot, I do the math on the stones, I’m the one who actually creates the plan of the stones and then tell them the formation to cut with them, yeah, that’s the other thing that I do. I’m also into the marketing, accounting, management, so I’m actually hands on in the company.
MBD: What was your first big order or breakthrough moment?
KPM: To be honest, I don’t know. I don’t know which one to pick because every order for me has been my biggest breakthrough. I meet different kinds of people who are God sent, who are nice to me, who are always involved even in my personal life, you get gifts, I’m like, you guys are taking me this far. I have went as far as doing tombstones to a person who actually gave me a home to stay after my wedding, a person who actually invested in my wedding, who gave me a gift, even people came to my wedding, every single part of my life, my clients have been there, that’s how blessed this business is. It’s not just a business, it’s a home yekunyaradzana, I wanted to call it Munyaradzi for some reason. I call it Munyaradzi, because it has covered that void in me of not having my father with me. It has been a blessing, that’s all I can say.
Kimberly showing one of her products
MBD: How do you ensure quality and consistency in your business?
KPM: I think I mentioned that before, that I give a period of the days that we are going to work on the product, then we work on it until it has got a quality finishing. I work towards the workmanship until it’s done. I make sure that I buy the right equipment for the product to be done. Everything that is just needed for the product, I make sure that it is on time and we are on time.
MBD: What makes your business different from others?
KPM: To be honest, my business is different from others because it is more of a family-based business. What am I saying by family-based business? At my workplace, we work like a family. When you get there, you don’t know who the manager is, you don’t know who the owner is. So sometimes, it’s more like a home, where a father and a mother are there and the children are just happy because we are there for each other. We work as a unit, we are a team, we make sure that our clients also feel at home when they come to purchase. We ask the details, the certain details, the personal details that you would never think a person would ask when they need to do the tombstone. We are involved, we love our clients, we make sure our clients also love us, we love to be loved. That’s just Tafadzwa, we love to be loved. And kunofadzwa vanhu, you just know the name Tafadzwa, Tafadzwa, Tafadzwa, Tafadzwa, it is a happy name. So we are a home of the living souls, we make sure that whatever that has been left, whatever memories that we have left by our loved ones, are inscribed on the tombstone, even when we are doing the tombstone, we put love to it. We make sure, we even speak to the tombstone, that’s how crazy we are. We speak to the tombstone, even when we are erecting them, we speak to them. With clients, we call them because we want the full information, we want to update them. That’s how I think my business is different from other people because I want to be involved personally in a client’s life, I want to be involved personally with the guys that I work with and we are happy all the time, we are always encouraging each other to do certain stuff, that’s how blessed and different my business is. We are a family more than we are a business.
MBD: How has the business changed your life personally?
KPM: To be honest enough, I have found peace, I have found the courage to let go of everything that has been bothering me, asking myself questions, why? Because sometimes I do tombstones for kids and I realise that life is too short for me to be even asking God why? Because there is this verse that people love writing on their tombstones, 2 Timothy 4 verse 7, I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race and I have kept the faith. That verse really changed me and it has shown me how grateful we should be with life. How grateful we should be with each and every moment you are living. Because at each and every given moment, you are able to lose a loved one, you will be able to lose yourself. We don’t have much time on this earth. So I learnt to be grateful all around, all year, every day of my life I am grateful, even when trials and tribulations come, I am grateful because at the end of the day we are here, we are just passing by. And the only thing that we can do is to be loved and to love and to be happy. So that changed me personally to a point whereby I now view life differently. I want to love, I want to live life to the fullest and I want to appreciate each and every person who is in my life because no one knows the day nor the hour and I have learnt to be grateful more than I was before.
Kimberly showing another product
MBD: Do you employ or mentor others?
KPM: Currently, I have two guys on site, a polisher and a cutter and I actually employ the ones who draw pictures. They come in and out, people who write the stones, they come here and there. I employ people around me. They help us carry the stones sometimes because they are quite, quite heavy. Yes, I do mentor some people. People ask me questions like for business, they ask me how do you do this, and I just give them ideas. I’m not stingy with ideas because you know what, we have got a lot of clients. I don’t want to be the person who is not able to teach. I want to say that is my product and I actually have my products. I had guys who used to work for me back then. A lot of them, I started with two guys again, they actually opened their own companies. They also taught other people and those people opened their companies too. So I’m a mother, I’m a mother, I’m a mother of nations when it comes to tombstones. I’m a mother of tombstones, that’s what I can say and I’m actually grateful that they are doing their businesses well and you will be very surprised that they actually have big displays more than me. I don’t do big displays but they do have big displays. They have got a big clientele and to my surprise, they actually come back and ask for more information, how do you do this, how do you do that and when I have a lot of clients at my workplace and I cannot meet the deadlines, I actually call them back and say, you know what guys, I need your help so and so, we are going to fix these displays and they do not deny because at any given single time they are able to offer me their services and I’m actually grateful for that. We have created a relationship, they left me in 2023, and we are still in touch three years later and God bless their businesses and everything that they do. We mentor each other, we ask each other information, we give each other even the stones, we give each other the stones when we lack of something, you know, and we are always there for each other all the time and it actually helped me to have people on my side and they are actually male dominants now in the industry, so I thank God for that also.
MBD: Why is it important for women to be financially independent?
KPM: Being financially independent as a woman gives you a sense of gratitude, a sense of not being entitled to certain things that people have worked for. I will speak on entitlement; when you are financially independent as a woman, you are not entitled to anything that a person has or anything that a person has to do for you. Why am I saying this? When you are employed, fully employed or when you are financially independent, you are able to do certain things for yourself and you don’t see them as something that a person should have been doing for me. Especially, let me just for those who are married. When you are married and you get to build your houses and you get to live in your houses as a family, there are certain things that you need like doing your hair, your clothes, maybe shopping, getting whatever you want to eat at that certain time. Yes, your husband can do that for you, but it is not a must for him to do that because men don’t speak up. Men also have problems. I wish I could teach much on this, men don’t speak up, they are not like us ladies. So, for us to put pressure on them, it’s more stress on them and things don’t work out at the end of the day because we’re putting pressure on them. They also have family responsibilities that they need to work on. But when you’re financially independent, you can go there or then go and buy your own roll-on without being entitled. Being financially independent has made me realise that I can actually take care of my family where I come from, when I can, when I want. When I feel like my grandma needs something, I can just say, you know what? Yes, it is what I work for, I don’t have to wait for my husband to give me that money. Being financially independent gives you peace of mind, peace of mind. I will repeat that. And It has given me gratitude that I’m able to do things that I wasn’t able to be doing and also it has given me peace in my household that I’m able to help. And it has also given me this strong bold character that I’m actually able to help my husband with certain things when things are hard for the both of us. I’m able to look and say, you know what, babey, we can use this money to do certain things, and also giving back to God. You know, it’s so good to give back to God at the end of the day and say, God, you know what, thank you for this moment.
MBD: How do you balance business and family responsibilities?
KPM: This one is very critical and it’s beautiful, it’s very, very, very much beautiful. It has been a journey. We learn every day, that’s what I can tell you. My husband is supportive, that’s how I can manage the business and balance with the family. When I’m at work and I have got a lot of pressure, when I need to be hands-on, he understands. So, me balancing is not mainly because of my mind-set. It’s mainly because of the environment that I’m in. The people who surround me. The people who understand me. The people who know what family means to me and what my business means to me. I made sure when we started this business that I don’t use weekends. That’s why I said earlier on, I tell clients we work seven days, excluding weekends. I make sure Saturdays and Sundays, I’m available for my husband, I’m available for my family. I make sure that Monday to Friday we work and 4 o’clock I’m done, I go home to cook for him, he eats my hot food and then I come back. And there are certain times when I’m not there, he would have done something and, it’s not everyday that he does that but pandinenge ndisipo, he is so eager to do something for me because I will be coming back home very tired, coming maybe from erecting a tombstone or maybe I had certain orders that had a tight deadline, he helps me.
MBD: What advice would you give to women who are afraid to start?
KPM: Pray, pray, pray. Ask God for alignment and his will. If we don’t pray, things are going to be so hard for us. I know people may say we pray but things don’t work out the way we want, but I will say this, I have also been lost. The moment that I started engaging prayer, putting God first in each and every business that I wanted to do, I had an alignment. You can have a business and not be aligned at all, you can be doing things and you won’t see where your profits are going, I have been there, because I had sit down and say you know what, go back to your drawing board, who gave you the business first, God, in February 2020, and it was implemented in July 2020, five months later. So in each and everything that you do as a woman, first of all, ask God is this what you want me to do, is this the purpose that you have for me. Is this your will and everything will align to the way the whole universe has planned for you and everything will just come and be beautiful. So I will just say to every woman, start, just start your business and continue to pray even when things are going your way. Don’t lose God, don’t lose yourself in business, because sometimes you are so jaded in your business that you lose family time, we lose time with God but whatever we do, let’s put God first and ask for alignment. Imagine in Covid, that’s when I thrived, it was not by my own will but by God’s will, it was never about my understanding or my knowledge, it was about God’s will and time and it was perfect. He makes everything perfect in its time. And also if you are married, respect your husbands because they are the priests of your household and I know some may have issues with that but I say, ask God first and then you ask your husband. There are certain principalities that we need to learn first when it comes to business, each and everything has a principality. Business is taught in the Bible.
MBD: Where do you see your business in the next five years?
KPM: I see myself ndichiburitsa ma tombstones kunge maputi, zviye zvekuti anenge achingo popper. That’s how I see my business in the next five years, honestly speaking because with the faith that I’m having, in this economy that we are in, people say a lot, but I don’t see it because with the God that I serve, in the next five years, I will be a very recognised business yekuti, people will say ko KuTafadzwa makambokunzwa here, all I can say is in the next five years I want to be really big, to be a force to reckon with in this industry. We also provide catering services, deco, so I want every part of my business to be big.
Other entrepreneurs who may want to be profiled, please get in touch on munyabless@yahoo.com or call or text on +263777283907
