Mataranyika devoted to comforting others

By Golden Sibanda
THE death of a loved one can be a time of extreme distress, but certain people care so much for others they dedicated their lives to reducing the pain.
It takes quite copious amounts of love and care for one to leave a rewarding profession with a leading firm simply to give others comfort in times of grief. Equally, it takes tremendous vision, courage and commitment to leave one’s employ and set out to fill a nook traditional service providers never cared about. Sahwira Mukuru, led by a visionary and dedicated son of the soil who cares so much for his kith and kin, saw a gap as regards the needs of bereaved Africans.
But you may need to ask none other than Nyaradzo Funeral Services founding chief executive Mr Philip Mataranyika the different ways people care for others. He will almost certainly tell you Sahwira Mukuru, as Nyaradzo Funeral Services has come to be known in Zimbabwe, will provide you with peace of mind and most ideal way to pay your last respects to the “dear and departed”.
The Nyaradzo Funeral Services chief executive and major shareholder, Mr Mataranyika was born in the humble environs of Nyazura, Manicaland, in 1964. He started school at Rukweza Primary School in the same predominantly rural community, but finished his primary education at Tsungai Primary School in Highfield, Harare.
The humble and cool CEO returned to Nyazura for his high school education and joined Old Mutual in 1986 as a benefits administrator. He is also a graduate of the Institute of Marketing Management (IMM), London.
For the next 15 years Old Mutual buttered his bread, but he earned his living. His excellent work ethic saw the unassuming but somewhat shy executive rise through the ranks to become financial advisor at the big firm. But great men dream big. Ambition, care for others and entrepreneurial instincts compelled Mr Mataranyika to leave his employ and start his own business. However, not before he left Old Mutual did his sterling performance get recognised. For five straight years he won the chairman’s trophy for top financial advisor.
Due to his insatiable entrepreneurial thirst, vision and care for others Mr Mataranyika left Old Mutual and joined forces with friends to form Nyaradzo. Together with fellow businessmen Mr Farai Rwodzi and Mr Timothy Chiganze, Mr Mataranyika runs and jointly owns Nyaradzo Funeral Services.
Nyaradzo Funeral Services was not set up to provide the conventional services many such firms had provided prior to the birth of the indigenous entity. At Nyaradzo they cater for one’s funeral needs in true African fashion. How? Well, they provide buses to ensure that everyone will be there in the entire process as loved ones pay their last respects to the dear and departed.
“We realised there was need for provision of funeral services by a friendly Zimbabwean company which understands the African culture,” said Mr Mataranyika.
In the African culture, when a loved one passes on we help each other bear the pain of grief as relatives or family and friends. Usually, on the final day people need bigger forms of transport to and from the deceased’s final resting place.
“‘When we set up Nyaradzo there were many non-indigenous players, but we looked at the African funeral set-up and it took Nyaradzo to introduce a service that is in sync with African culture and requirements,” said Mr Mataranyika.
With him it is not just business as usual, but making money in a greener environment makes more sense. Hence, he took part in a 280km walk from Gweru to Harare to encourage planting of 500 million trees in 15 years. He also teamed with others of like mind and formed Friends of the Environment, an organisation that cares for the environment.
He believes as Zimbabwe moves towards a US$100 billion economy by 2030, as agreed at the CEO Africa Roundtable, people should care about the environment.
His business acumen has not gone unnoticed by others in the same field. In recognition of his entrepreneurial prowess he received the KMFS CEO Achiever of the Year Award at the CEO Africa Roundtable in Nyanga last week. This follows the ZNCC CEO of the Year and the Institute of People Management of Zimbabwe CEO of the Year runner-up prizes he scooped last year.
Mr Mataranyika believes the awards are in recognition of his organisation’s tremendous success as a service champion in the area of funeral service provision.
As is the case with this puzzling phenomenon called life, trials and tribulations will always be inevitable and the Nyaradzo Funeral Services CEO believes they are a motivating factor, for, without them life would be dull.
For him there always will be hurdles that must be overcome and the trick to overcoming them lies in hard work and an unflinching resolve to succeed.
As a man who dreams big his supreme vision is to become the ultimate service provider. His firm has 10 branches across the country and caters for different levels of funeral needs. As an optimist he says Zimbabwe has unfathomable potential to rediscover itself, learn from past mistakes and refocus on returning to its yesteryear glory.
Mr Mataranyika is married to Mavis and they are blessed with three sons – Nigel (18), Tapiwa (11) and Tendekai (7). During his leisure time he plays golf, goes to the gym, reads books and is a columnist for a local business weekly.