Exactly a year ago, I was in the most tumultuous chapter of my life. I had just closed a major chapter with the United Nations โ not forever, but for now. I had flown to Malawi for back-to-back events and speaking engagements, pouring myself out in service while carrying an unshakable uncertainty about what was next. Then I returned to the U.S. to start business school, and it almost broke me.
It wasnโt just the academic rigor โ it was the emotional weight of transition. I was still living out of boxes, literally and figuratively. Just this past month, I unpacked the final box from New York, but in truth, that moment wasnโt about clothes or books โ it was about my mental state finally catching up with the new life Iโm building.
Why I Came to MSU: Q2, the Supply Chain Dream
When I came to Michigan State University, my purpose was clear: I wanted to build Q2 as a supply chain and agtech company.
Malawi, my home, is an agricultural nation. Africaโs future hinges on food systems, trade flows, and the infrastructures that connect smallholder farmers to global opportunity. I came to MSU because of its global strength in supply chain management. I wanted the rigor, the frameworks, the tools to build something that would outlast me โ a model that could make Africa food-sufficient while creating real wealth in our communities.
At that time, Q2 was not a game. It was supply chain. It was logistics. It was farming. That was the vision I was determined to sharpen here.
Enter Xbox: The Unexpected Curve
And then came Xbox.
When I was hired as an MBA Business Development Intern, I thought it would be a summer in tech โ exposure, experience, a strong resume line. But the deeper I got into the gaming industry, the more conflicted I became.
On one hand, I still believed โ and still believe โ that Q2 must be built as a supply chain and agtech company. Malawi, and Africa at large, cannot thrive without strong food systems and logistics. That hasnโt changed.
But then I discovered Farming Simulator.
At first, it was curiosity. Then, it became obsession โ both as a gamer and as a strategist. The gameplay fascinated me, but so did the business model. It was proof that a simulation could teach, engage, and monetize at scale. It was the bridge between my original Q2 supply chain vision and this new world of games.
The Lightbulb Moment (Studio D)
One day, standing in my office at Studio D, the tension resolved itself:
Q2 would remain the supply chain company I came here to build โ but it would also become a simulation.
A Q2 sim that makes agtech accessible, aspirational, and engaging for Africaโs next generation.
That was the moment of clarity: Q2 wasnโt shifting away from agriculture and logistics โ it was expanding into gaming as the most scalable way to build awareness, skills, and a movement around it.
Thrilled to Be Back in Lansing
As I step into my second year, I am not only clearer about Q2, but also more rooted in the MSU community that has shaped me so profoundly.
At the Broad College of Business, I am pursuing a STEM MBA in Marketing Management and Business Analytics as a Fortรฉ Fellow. I am honored to continue serving as a Fortรฉ MBA Ambassador, advancing Fortรฉโs mission of empowering women in leadership.
I was also recently elected President of the Black MBA Association, where I lead with a decade of entrepreneurial and nonprofit leadership behind me, building pipelines of talent and representation across industries.
I also work as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the School of Engineering โ sharing knowledge, guiding students, and shaping the next generation of innovators.
Being back in Lansing โ immersed in this thriving academic and leadership ecosystem โ feels like coming full circle.
Kwathu at Xbox Gamecamp Africa
This clarity is why I am so proud that Kwathu will be at Xbox Gamecamp Africa.
Kwathu Kollective has always been about empowering creators and innovators. Now we step into gaming not as outsiders but as builders, bringing Africaโs stories, systems, and imagination to life. For me, this is a milestone: from dreaming about logistics to designing simulations that can reimagine economies.
The Books: Building in Parallel
Writing has been my way of making sense of all this. While I build Q2, while I study, while I wrestle with transitions โ I write.
2025 has seen me publishing 3 books:
2026 will see the fruit of my discipline, with eight books lined up:
First a memoir, in celebration of my mother’s life:
Lady at the Helm
Followed by a series:
- Lessons
- Beggars in Suits
- Systemic Nonsense
- Impossible Economies
- So Wrong for So Long
- We Are Still at War
- A New Normal
Each of these books is a reflection of my journey and the world I am trying to navigate. They are the intellectual scaffolding around the ecosystems Iโm building.
Year Two of the MBA
Year One was survival. Transition. Turbulence.
Year Two feels different. It is strategy, clarity, purpose. It is electives that align with my passions in marketing and analytics. It is leadership, not just learning. And it is also the courage to admit that I donโt yet know which exit will be mine.
Post-MBA, I am holding three doors open:
- A Master in Public Administration (MC/MPA), to deepen my policy and governance lens.
- Full-time employment in tech, to keep sharpening my corporate edge.
- Entrepreneurship, to give Q2 and Kwathu the full breath of my attention.
I donโt feel tied to one path. I am exploring all, and trusting timing, purpose, and alignment to do their work.
As I step into my second year, I feel less like I am surviving and more like I am arriving.
Arriving at clarity. At confidence. At the intersection of my why and my work.
Q2 began as a supply chain dream. Xbox taught me it could also be a simulation. Kwathu is stepping into Gamecamp Africa. And I, finally, am stepping into Year Two with both hands open โ ready to build, to write, to lead, and to live into the life I came here to create.
Still intentional,
Nthanda Manduwi
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