Partnerships and the Work Ahead
The African Studies Center at Michigan State University marked its 65th anniversary as a moment of reflection on the role academic institutions play in shaping long-term engagement with Africa. For over six decades, the Center has contributed to scholarship, teaching, and global partnerships that extend beyond the university into policy, practice, and communities across the continent.
Moments like Africa @ MSU at 65 matter not because they commemorate time passed, but because they reaffirm institutional responsibility. Universities and research centers shape how regions are understood, how problems are framed, and how future practitioners are trained. Their influence is quiet, cumulative, and enduring.
Our founder, Ms. Nthanda Manduwi served as the Master of Ceremonies for the night, and we were delighted to bring the story of the Ntha Foundation to Africa’s partners in Michigan and beyond.
Scholarship as a foundation for systems-building
The Foundation’s work is grounded in the belief that sustainable systems do not emerge in isolation. They are informed by research, strengthened by dialogue, and refined through long-term institutional engagement. Academic centers such as the African Studies Center play a critical role in developing the people, ideas, and methods that later shape real-world outcomes.
Across education, agriculture, and broader development ecosystems, the gap between insight and implementation is often not a lack of effort, but a lack of alignment. Scholarship provides the frameworks through which complex realities can be understood. Systems-building requires translating that understanding into structures that endure.
The Ntha Foundation operates at this intersection.
From dialogue to infrastructure
Africa-facing work frequently remains at the level of conversation. Panels, reports, and convenings are necessary, but insufficient. Long-term impact requires investment in physical and institutional infrastructure that supports learning, creativity, and production over time.
As the Foundation’s work has evolved, its focus has shifted from programmatic interventions toward environments that enable sustained capacity-building. This shift reflects a broader understanding that systems persist when people have access to spaces, tools, and networks that allow ideas to move from theory into practice.
The Kwathu Innovation and Creative Centre
One such effort is the planned Kwathu Innovation and Creative Centre, to be housed within the Kwathu Smart Innovation Farms in Malawi. The Centre is envisioned as a multi-purpose space supporting skills development, creative work, research activity, and systems experimentation.
Its role is not symbolic. It is designed to function as a working environment where education, production, and collaboration coexist, grounded in local realities and supported by sustainable economic models. The Center reflects the Foundation’s commitment to building infrastructure that serves long-term development rather than short-term outcomes.
Academic institutions as long-term partners
The African Studies Center at MSU represents the type of institutional partner required for this work. Its six and a half decades of engagement demonstrate the value of continuity, documentation, and serious scholarship. Such institutions shape the practitioners who go on to build systems, influence policy, and lead organisations across sectors.
Partnerships between academic centers and field-based institutions allow scholarship to remain relevant and practice to remain informed. They create feedback loops that strengthen both.
Following Africa @ MSU at 65, the Ntha Foundation and the African Studies Center have entered conversations about future collaboration, including the possibility of co-hosting the Foundation’s annual gala as a joint effort aligned with shared commitments to Africa’s future.
Looking ahead
The Ntha Foundation remains committed to deepening partnerships with universities, research centers, and global institutions that take long horizons seriously. Building systems that endure requires collaboration across disciplines, geographies, and institutional forms.
Africa @ MSU at 65 served as a reminder that scholarship and systems are not separate pursuits. When aligned, they form the foundation for work that is rigorous, responsible, and lasting.
Work With Us
Want to partner on or fund one of our programs / initiatives? We are always open to collaborations and partnerships. Contact our Founder; Ms. Nthanda Manduwi via contact@nthafoundation.org.
To keep up with the work of the Ntha Foundation, our hubs under the Kwathu Kollective, our initiatives, and our projects, follow us on social media:
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