Prithvi Rosunee may be one of the few people who enjoyed — and now misses — the TTC.
Originally from the African nation of Mauritius — a 2,040 square kilometre island off the east coast of Madagascar with a population of 1.2 million — Rosunee wasn’t used to having access to mass transit. He commutes by car from the small town of Moka to work in Grande Baie, a village just north of Port Louis, the bustling capital and financial centre of this island nation.
It’s a far cry from when Rosunee, who earned a master in mathematical finance (MMF) degree at U of T in 2023, lived at Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue and enjoyed the ease of hopping on and off the subway to attend classes or run errands.
Rosunee is now a junior quant analyst with AFRAE AM in Mauritius, a company that aims to highlight the investment potential of African nations.
“My main responsibilities are to develop quantitative models, help provide investment and create models that tell us where to allocate capital,” Rosunee says. The goal, he explains, is to invest in African-listed equities and prioritize technology and digitization with the goal of impacting economic development across the continent.
He credits the faculty and staff of the MMF program with opening his mind about the future.
“I had a very limited view of the possibilities my degree could bring in terms of job opportunities,” he says. “It opened my eyes to what was available out there.” During the Christmas break back home in Mauritius, an epiphany struck.
“Quantitative investing had really taken off here.”
He was inspired to put down roots in his home nation and contribute to the robust financial sector emerging across Africa.
Rosunee values his decision to study in Canada and looks back fondly on his time spent in the country’s largest city. “Toronto is a very special place. The University of Toronto has so many international students. Aside from the weather, it wasn’t much of a culture shock.”
He was also impressed by how driven his fellow students were.
“I had thought of myself as ambitious at the start of the program. But my classmates were really, really ambitious. They had already mapped out their careers. They were so driven, and I felt myself driven to work as hard as I could,” Rosunee says.
He especially enjoyed learning from instructors who were also active professionals. “The program is mostly taught by people from the industry, so they have a different way of teaching — using case studies or practical applications rather than relying on textbooks.”
He keeps in touch with his classmates despite the long distance and hopes to visit Toronto next year during the World Cup, especially because he promised to show his girlfriend U of T’s campus.
“I’ve told her so many good things about Toronto. We have to come now.”
Expect them to take the TTC to the soccer match, for old time’s sake.