Nthanda Manduwi

Eli Broad College of Business, Michigan State University

“Systems entrepreneur building cyber-physical infrastructure across emerging markets through technology innovation, policy partnership, and systems design.”

Hometown: Mangochi, Malawi

Fun fact about yourself: I grew up by Lake Malawi and now think about systems through water, flow, and ecosystems.

Undergraduate School and Degree:

University of Malawi — Bachelor of Social Sciences (Economics & Demography)

Malawi University of Science & Technology — Master of Science in Entrepreneurship (Digital Transformation)

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), New York — Analyst, Independent Evaluation Office

Where did you intern during the summer of 2025? Microsoft — Business Development Manager (Xbox), Redmond, Washington

Where will you be working after graduation? Founder, Q2 Systems (Detroit) — Building cyber-physical infrastructure for emerging markets

Community Work and Leadership Roles:

Founder, Ntha Foundation (Creativity and Innovation Organization)
Founder, Kwathu Kollective (pan-African innovation network)
President, Black MBA Association
Rockefeller Foundation Big Bets Fellow (Food Systems)
Detroit Tech Fellowship (Inaugural Cohort)
Forté Ambassador

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? Building and scaling Q2 Systems alongside my MBA. The company is registered in Michigan and South Africa, with active projects in Malawi, expansion exploration in South Africa, and a Detroit base through the inaugural Detroit Tech Fellowship. I believe this journey has reflected my ability to move from theory to execution across markets in real time.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Being selected as a Rockefeller Foundation Big Bets Fellow to scale food systems innovation across Africa. It validated my work as systems-level thinking, not just project-based execution.

Why did you choose this business school? Michigan State’s strength at the intersection of agriculture, engineering, and business. I wanted to understand how production systems actually work in the real world. I also wanted to be in community with people I consider support, and MSU was that, and more.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Professor Kevin Markle — for seeing me clearly as a builder and encouraging me to think and operate at scale.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? Marketing Research (Prof. Dale Wilson) — it sharpened how I think about evidence, insight, and decision-making. I took three of his courses (MKT 806, 816, and 819) because they fundamentally changed how I approach problems in business and marketing research.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? Industry Treks — visiting the Ford plant in Dearborn with my students in the Engineering department reshaped how I think about engineering, manufacturing, and what it takes to operate at scale.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? I would try to not do everything at once. I would make more time to build deeper relationships with my peers. I think that is an experience I missed out on – connecting, as I was too caught up in trying to build and sustain my businesses.

What was the most impactful case study you had in business school and what was the biggest lesson you learned from it? The Harvard Pricing and Profitability simulation taught by Prof. Raymond Pirouz. It was one of the most engaging courses for me, and showed how small pricing decisions can fundamentally reshape outcomes at scale.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? East Lansing was the biggest University campus I had been on at the time I first visited. I fell in love with the town, and its people. East Lansing gave me the space to think, build, and transition from operator to systems designer.

What business leader do you admire most? Sarah Bond (former President of Xbox) — for redefining leadership through humanity, access, and the ability to create space for others to build. It was a privilege to support her executive communications work over the summer. Her approach demonstrated that leadership at scale does not require ego, but intention.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? I used AI as a collaborator and thought partner. The most valuable insight was learning how to work with AI to rapidly prototype ideas, test assumptions, and build full concepts in significantly less time.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Katherine Pagano — for her beautiful heart and rare ability to bring people together in meaningful, lasting ways.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

Build Q2 Systems into a global infrastructure company

Develop systems that transform production, mobility, and food systems in emerging markets

What made Nthanda such an invaluable member of the MBA Class of 2026?

“I love teaching MBA students because all of them have taken a huge leap of faith in themselves and disrupted their lives to pursue long-term dreams. On this and really every other positive dimension, Nthanda is next-level. From our very first interaction, the phrase, ‘force of nature’ has been synonymous with Nthanda in my mind. I was teaching her the basics of financial accounting…balance sheets, income statements… and I will be honest: she had little inherent interest in the course content. Her mind was so clearly on a higher plane the whole time, dreaming of world-changing ideas and how to expand and intensify her impact. That is not to say that she was not engaged in the class, though. Quite the contrary. She is that rare gift of a student that brings consistent engagement that pulls the whole class upward and improves learning for everyone; always willing to share a perspective and offer a response with concern for nothing but learning, hers and ours. Nthanda’s story is sure to continue to be one of meteoric rise and I look forward to seeing the amazing things she will write in the coming chapters.”

Kevin Markle, PhD.
Associate Professor and Deloitte/Michael Licata Fellow in Taxation
Director, PhD Program in Accounting
Broad College of Business, Michigan State University

 

 

 

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