I am delighted to have been nominated again at the Consumer Choice Awards Malawi 2026, this time in the category of the Most Inspiring Female Business Leader as founder and CEO of Q2 Systems. Last year, I was nominated as the Most Inspiring Female Corporate Leader, and we took it home. It was wonderful for the work of my non-profit, Ntha Foundation, to be recognized in that way.
Q2 is my newest and most ambitious bet yet – a company I established at the beginning of 2025, as I pursued my MBA studies at the Michigan State University.
About Q2 Systems
At Q2 Systems, we are building closed-loop autonomous infrastructure systems—integrating simulation, real-world deployment, and continuous learning into one adaptive ecosystem.
In simpler terms:
We design systems that learn from the world, act in the world, and improve over time.
From autonomous mobility through QTrax, to intelligent production systems like the Kwathu Smart Innovation Farms, our goal is to rethink how infrastructure is built—especially in environments where traditional systems have failed or never existed.
I deeply believe in a future of infrastructure which is not be retroffitted too late, but rather designed as autonomy-native from the start.
Successes Thus Far
This work has already begun to open doors—globally.
I was selected as a Detroit Tech Fellow, joining a new generation of founders building the future of industry and innovation in one of America’s most historically significant cities. Detroit to me is a statement about rebuilding, reinvention, and systems thinking.
I was also selected for the inaugural Big Bets Fellowship: Africa Fellowship, part of a global network focused on tackling large-scale challenges with bold, scalable ideas. I trust that this experience will sharpen how I think about markets, infrastructure, and what it actually takes to build solutions that endure.
These platforms allow us to test, build, and scale what Q2 Systems represents.
Beyond Me
This nomination is not just about me.
It is about:
- A different vision for global innovation that benefits Africa
- A belief that we can build globally relevant systems from our contexts
- A commitment to designing infrastructure that actually works for the environments it serves
I invite you to participate in that vision.
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Lessons Conversation
Delve into Business and International Development with Nthanda Manduwi
Episode 3: Rebuilding Detroit | Lessons Daily
After a month of living in the city, I attended a Detroit Economic Growth Corporation event where the City of Detroit was awards 13 businesses with grants amounting to $300,000.
The room was filled with founders, policymakers, and ecosystem builders gathered around a shared objective: increasing the probability that companies are built and sustained here.
I really like how the City of Detroit is approaching their entrepreneurship programming. It is quite deliberate: municipal grants, residency stipends, coworking access, and roles like Director of Entrepreneurship are all designed to reduce friction and create density.
As someone who is both an entrepreneur and a policy analyst, I find myself more than curious. From the inside, the strategy feels coherent. Capital is being deployed, networks are forming, and leadership is aligned around making Detroit competitive for builders.
But the city reveals itself differently once you leave that room. Moving through Detroit with the Director of Youth Affairs, Jerjuan Howard, the layers begin to separate.
Institutional support, ecosystem energy, and neighborhood reality do not fully overlap—they operate in parallel. Jerjuan’s work—through debate programs, public space, and the Howard Family Bookstore—exists at the level where rebuilding becomes physical and immediate.
His question at the end of the day to me,“Do you plan to stay?” left me reflecting on what I hope to gain from and give to Detroit.
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March 26, 2026
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If you’d like to go deeper into my journey — from Malawi, through the United Nations to Microsoft, you can find it in my books.
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This offer is valid till the end of the year.
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