Chimango Takes the Mantle: A New Dawn with Kwathu

I am most delighted to introduce Ms. Chimango Manduwi, my sister, as the new Operations Lead at the organisation I founded, the Kwathu Kollective.

Her appointment comes at a pivotal moment. We have formally relocated our headquarters to Mangochi, where Kwathu Kollective will now be hosted within Excel Primary School, the very institution our mother built.

Sustainability as Strategy: We Are Moving ‘Kwathu’ to Mangochi

Honouring Our Mother

My mother, Captain Lonnie Constance Kalua-Manduwi, was not only Africa’s first female inland marine captain: she was a systems builder.

Lonnie founded Excel Primary School with the same clarity and strength she once used to navigate the waters of the majestic Lake Malawi. Her vision was long-term. Her standards, uncompromising.

In the final months of her life, she began calling my sister, Chimango (fondly called Charmie by us), back home. “Come to Mangochi,” she would say. “Come run Excel.”

But at the time, Charmie was establishing her own career. She was with ESCOM in Blantyre, working her way up the ladder, building a path of her own.

When our mother passed away in August of 2022, our father turned to me. I had just moved to New York City, starting my work with the United Nations. He said to me, “You are the heir. It’s your decision who will carry this forward.”

It was not much a question. We all knew Mom’s vision. I knew Charmie had the spirit and steadiness to lead. We all did. And so, Charmie moved to Mangochi.

Bridging Legacy and Innovation

While Charmie took the reins at Excel, I continued the work Mom and I had already begun: pivoting Kwathu Kollective to Mangochi.

I had brought electricity and water onto the campus. We built the first computer lab. I envisioned a digitally integrated school: one that merged creativity, technology, and early education.

But Charmie asked me to pause; just until she could master the administration of the school. She wanted to lead not just from sentiment, but from operational knowledge. So I paused. And, we continued building in Lilongwe.

What We’ve Been Building

Over the last few years, I’ve kept a clear line of sight on our bigger vision: both for the Ntha Foundation and the Kwathu Kollective.

After my time at the UN, I began my MBA journey at Michigan State University, focusing on marketing and business analytics. I’ve spent the past two years refining my leadership practice, working at the intersection of policy, technology, and entrepreneurship.

May of 2025, I joined Microsoft, where I now focus on global business development within the Xbox and gaming ecosystem. It’s an exciting moment. One where I am learning from some of the most innovative teams in the world, while positioning myself to scale African-led platforms globally.

It’s also time for me to step fully into the strategic vision of our ventures; while anchoring execution and scale through our team on the ground.

Why My Sister? Charmie’s Time of Grounding

There is nobody, alive or dead, that I trust more to carry this vision forward.

My sister is quite unlike me: a silent work, an details manager.

Charmie spent the last three years doing the hard, quiet work. She restabilized Excel. She formalized systems. She built credibility with staff, trust with parents, and clarity in operations.

She now understands every detail of how Excel works. This is why I trust that she is the right person to lead Kwathu Kollective’s expansion.

Not only is she competent in knowledge: Charmie holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences, and she is presently pursuing her Master of Business Administration at the University of Malawi.

Charmie will be supported by Rhoda Kamwaza, our former MD, who now serves as Board Chair.

Kwathu Kollective Comes Home

With our headquarters now based at Excel Schools in Mangochi, Kwathu Kollective will operate as a model embedded innovation ecosystem.

This is not an external program. We are not being reactionary here: it has been years in the making. It’s fully integrated.

We are turning Excel into a pilot site for digital readiness in early education: complete with a digital skills curriculum, teacher training, infrastructure support, and youth-led labs. This is our blueprint for scaling innovation across Malawi and the continent.

We Moved (Our HQ) to Mangochi! | KWATHU KOWORK

Why Localizing Innovation Inside a School Makes Sense

In many parts of Africa, innovation is treated as something external to education. I personally believe that’s a missed opportunity.

By embedding Kwathu into a real-time school environment, we’re able to:

Co-develop curriculum-aligned innovation programs
Pilot teacher upskilling and digital pedagogy models
Build out data systems that inform education policy
Host community-based trainings for youth and parents
Train students in coding, media, robotics, and AI—before they turn 13

This model will not be hypothetical. It will be tested, documented, and scaled.

The Future of Ntha Foundation and Kwathu Kollective

This new phase allows us to evolve how both entities work:

I will lead Ntha Foundation, and we will focus on global strategy, research, and partnerships, operating across education, policy, and the creative economy
Chimango will lead Kwathu Kollective, as it becomes the execution arm for innovation programming in Africa: rooted in Mangochi, expanding through partnerships with tech hubs, schools, and governments across the continent

Under my strategic leadership and Charmie’s operational leadership, the work will scale with intentionality, authenticity, and excellence.