From ashes, we rise is the story of the birth of Zimlabs; rising from a bleak situation propelled by survival instinct and to prove the world wrong. On that fateful day, July 2002; which began like any other day little did Grarison Bake one of the co-founders know that by 10:00 AM the international company he worked for would be closed and that he will be out of employment the very same day. Having no other plans and alternatives but only armed with 15 years of laboratory knowledge and experience, the future was very uncertain. Instinctively the survival mode kicked in and he asked the unheard of for a person of his employment grade; to buy the almost obsolete laboratory equipment as part of his severance package. And with no savings of his own, the money was not adequate, so he got help from a friend Kizito Vaushe and formed a partnership in August 2002. By providence, they were joined by Naume Mandizha who was on a mission for competitor intelligence, November 2002. She was quick to see an opportunity and offered to join and came on board on partnership. The partnership was later dissolved and the business was incorporated in 2005 as GNK Laboratories t/a Zimlabs, a company that is people-centered, driven for success, and aspiring for a lasting legacy; that history should not repeat itself. Together Grarison and Naume have built the company from very limited resources to what it is, a household name in Zimbabwe, a case of intelligence blended with expertise and experience giving life to Zimbabwe’s leading laboratory testing company.