“You do what you have to do,” says Mohamed Ali Niang. Subtle words from someone who takes the word “extraordinary to a new level.
Mohamed is truly one of the most incredible people I have ever come across. And I am NOT easily impressed.
A wise man once told me that all college students think they’re incredibly busy when they really don’t understand the meaning of the word. Not a single day goes by when I don’t hear a student complain about how much work they have to get done before whoever’s grimy house party. And not one of these moments occurs without my complimentary eye-roll.
But as someone who has sacrificed a social life for all that I juggle, I sometimes succumb to the “woe is me” syndrome. And then someone like Mohamed comes along.
He’s a senior at Temple and is only twenty-two years old, but you’d never guess by having a conversation with him. His daily concerns differ tremendously from yours. His main concern: growing his business, Malo Traders. The company was developed by Mohamed and his brother Salif to find a more efficient way to manufacture rice in the country of Mali, where the small-scale rice farmers’ inefficient methods lead to low wages for them and unaffordable rice for the citizens who then suffer from hunger and malnutrition.
Mohamed is a Malian born in Saudi Arabia who spent most of his life living in East and Central Africa. He describes himself as having been born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth. Once he started getting old enough, the spoon was removed and his parents pushed him to learn about the perils of the world. Upon witnessing the poverty, hunger, disease and misfortune of those around him, he knew he wanted to help do something about it.
He traveled to Lyon, France to attend the Centre d’Etudes Franco-Americain de Management (CEFAM) for a couple of years before transferring to Temple’s Fox School of Business (where our entrepreneurship program is in the top ten in the nation), an international partner of the school. Meanwhile, he was an intern for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and worked in a renewable energy company.
This is when he found out about the travesty that is the rice production company. He took a trip one day to visit Mali’s biggest rice production region and discovered the prodigal process that leads to the inefficiency in the market. Malo Traders was born in his mind right then.
Mohamed has been selected as a part of the Unreasonable Institute where he is in the process of raising $8,000 to participate in the Unreasonable Marketplace, where 25 lucky entrepreneurs will spend six weeks this summer networking with world-class mentors, investment funds, consulting funds and investors. Having already competed in several business competitions, he’s no stranger to this.
On top of that he’s still working towards graduating in May with a two degrees (one from Europe and one from America) in International Business and Entrepreneurship and minors in Economics and Corporate Sustainability.
It might all seem so daunting, but he lives for this hectic life. He pumps himself up by listening to music from his idol, Bob Marley, whose words keep him focused.
“He was a warrior, a five-star general in what he did: music,” asserts Mohamed. “He used his talents to fight injustice.”
This is exactly what Mohamed hopes to do throughout his entire life. As long as he’s living, he’s determined to be fighting hunger and poverty worldwide. This is one person who’s not afraid to take a risk to stand up for what he believes in.
“What’s the worst that could happen?” he asks. “If you fail, you start again.”
To see more about Malo Traders: http://www.malotraders.com/
To help his cause: http://marketplace.unreasonableinstitute.org/ventures/view/56/Malo-Traders-LLC