A Vision Rooted in Service
Ibrahim Kasujja’s journey began during the COVID-19 pandemic when he started his master's in human nutrition at McGill University remotely from Uganda.
Despite time zone challenges, he actively engaged in the McGill Dobson Cup startup competition, pitching NutriPosh—a blend of maize flour and pumpkin seeds enriched with essential nutrients. His innovation earned him first place and the $10,000 Mastercard Foundation-Dobson Startup Award.
“I competed before I was in Canada, and I was surprised that I won first place,” says Kasujja of the $10,000 Mastercard Foundation-Dobson Startup Award received by him and his team at Nurture Posterity International.
Kasujja’s social impact enterprise has since won grants totalling $125,000 USD from the Seeding the Future Global Food System Challenge.
Building on this momentum, he founded Nurture Posterity International, a nonprofit advancing food systems and health in Africa through technology. The organization has trained 2,700 farmers in regenerative agriculture and employs 24 people. Its NutriPosh flour, packed in eco-friendly bags, has reached 297 schools and includes safe food storage solutions.
“I wanted to disrupt the status quo by developing an alternative to the traditional standard school meal, which is usually posho [maize flour] and beans,” says Kasujja.
Kasujja is one of 170 Mastercard Foundation Scholars to attend McGill since 2013 when the University first partnered with the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program to offer full scholarships to exceptional young changemakers from sub-Saharan Africa. “Education is a pathway to changing one’s life trajectory,” notes Sarah Kalisa, the Program head at McGill and Director of International Student Services. “We know that there are multiple ripple effects.”
“Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Alumni from McGill are bringing their tremendous talents to Africa in different ways, whether it’s helping Rwandan youth tackle the mental health challenges of living with HIV, empowering girls in Uganda to pursue their interest in STEM studies, or the work that Ibrahim is doing in Uganda. This heartfelt commitment to contribute to Africa’s flourishing is shared by the Mastercard Foundation Scholars and Alumni,” Kalisa adds.
The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at McGill now supports master’s level students from the region who want to improve and transform nutrition, public health, public policy, and sustainable agriculture across Africa.
Kasujja is already doing that with NutriPosh, which blends maize flour with pumpkin seeds. The latter are richer in omega-3 fatty acids as well as lysine and tryptophan, essential amino acids. “It’s more nutritious. It contains nutrients that help children perform better, nutrients that improve brain health,” he says. The flour is produced in a factory by Composite NutriFlour Millers Limited, which Kasujja leads. He aspires to scale NutriPosh into neighbouring countries such as Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda.
For the Dobson Cup competition, Kasujja received mentoring, notably through McGill’s Community for Lifelong Learning. “Those members were very helpful because they used to meet with me and with other colleagues, and they finetuned the proposals. They helped with the PowerPoint slides and presentation,” Kasujja says, with tips such as removing complex nutritional information so laypeople could understand the pitch.
“It’s that experience that helped me win the Dobson Cup prize,” Kasujja says. He brought that knowledge and his newly acquired skills to the Global Food System Challenge, where he secured additional funding.
Scholarship, Research, and Purpose
Currently pursuing a PhD at King’s College London, Kasujja researches the link between food insecurity and mental health among children in sub-Saharan Africa. His work is grounded in a school hunger tool he created during his master’s—now central to his doctoral studies. His mission aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, targeting food security, mental health, and poverty reduction.
“We know, for example, if people are depressed, they won’t work. If people don’t have food to eat, they won’t work,” he says.
A Commitment to Giving Back
In March, Kasujja returned to Montreal to speak at the McGill Africa Umoja Summit, co-hosted by the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. There, he joined leaders and peers to address pressing issues across food security, health, and policy in Africa.
Meanwhile, Kasujja and other Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Alumni continue to pay forward the opportunities they’ve received by investing their time and talents in Africa.
“The Mastercard Foundation was so generous, and I believe there is no better way of giving back than applying my education to create impact,” he says. “I may not have money to give, but I have knowledge and skills—NutriPosh is my way of giving back, helping children thrive in school and beyond.”