Mommar Mass Taal, a 33 year old Gambian entrepreneur is the founder and Managing Director of Tropingo Foods. Tropingo Foods is a Gambian Agro Food Processing Company focused on dried fruit and nut exports. He is a seasoned social entrepreneur; with over 11 years experience who started his first company at the age of 17.
Momarr began his first business from printing t-shirts in his dorm room for friends and gradually grew that hobby into a successful clothing brand, “Malyka Clothing.” Within a few years he was manufacturing in Bangladesh and selling in five countries.
With the intention to build a business that would add value to local resources as well as address youth underemployment in The Gambia, Momarr discovered that most local producers, particularly farmers, had market access problems and set about building a business which used value addition to create that market, which led to the conception of Tropingo Foods in 2014.
Tropingo Foods is a food processing company involved in the processing of Groundnut and Mango in The Gambia and has grown into one of the fastest growing agri-processors. It’s mission is to establish Gambia as a regional hub to supply the world with quality food products. To date Tropingo Foods has grown to one of the premier exporters in The Gambia, creating employment for over 160 women and youth. The goal of Tropingo Foods is “to ensure that there is 0% crop loss and create sustainable markets for agricultural produce across the continent.”
Besides business Momarr is actively involved in the community and serves as the outgoing curator of the WEF Global Shapers Banjul Hub. In this capacity Momarr has spearheaded numerous community initiatives such as Ebola Free Gambia and various Mentorship programs.
Momarr has received global recognition for his business and community involvement including:
- 2020 Top 30 African entrepreneurs under 30
- 2017 Global Inclusion Entrepreneur Award – Global Youth Entrepreneur of the Year
- 2016 Forbes Africa – 30 under 30 Entrepreneurs Africa
- 2016 Choiseul Top 100 Africa Future Economic Leaders
- Beneficiary of the Tony Elumelu Foundation 2016
- The Future Awards Africa 2015 – Agriculture Entrepreneur of the year nominee
In an interview with Enterprise 54, Mommar says,
“We are challenged everyday, it is my job to find ways to overcome these challenges. One challenge was raising capital, we didn’t take any loans or investments. We systematically reinvested our profits strategically to reach our goals…”
“Vigilance and Discipline” is my secret to success as an entrepreneur.
Momarr Mass Taal is the future.
