His passion to make the biggest, most positive impact he is capable of, has prompted him to dedicate his career to this purpose and launching a unique organisation called World Innovation Alliance (WIA). From east to west, WIA continues to bring together the governments, organisations, media and people to find solutions for global problems with focus on education, health, poverty and human rights.
The Egyptian Mail sat with the smart mind behind WIA, namely Carlos Sentis. Sentis, who hails from Spain, is the Founder and CEO of WIA, board member of world humanitarian forum and board member of the organisation of young entrepreneurs of the European Union.
“I have been consultant in innovation international relations communication and social impact for ten years,” he said.
Since the beginning of his career when he was 18 years old, Sentis was keen to develop his network by working with numerous international organisations and companies from different countries to gain the experience and develop the ability to launch this project.
“It was exactly three years ago when I decided I was ready to launch WIA for social impact.
“I did it because I feel the responsibility to use my effort and my time to not only to live a prosperous life and be as happy and healthy as I can, but also to use my effort and my time to be valuable for others.
“Here, I find my purpose and my meaning,” he said with enthusiasm.
Sentis went on to say that there are more than 2 billion people live in extreme poverty. Many people suffer from war, violence and human rights violations.
“So I want to make sure that I do everything in my power to improve life and reduce suffering of as many people as I can before I die,” he added.
During the 14 years of his work experience he has stumbled upon many obstacles.
“Frankly speaking, I was lucky to find support from my father as a mentor. I also work with remarkable individuals and have the trust and the support of many large organisations, so my situation has been pretty fortunate.”
Sentis said entrepreneurs face many challenges.
“They do not really know what they are capable of. They don’t have the contacts. Even if they know what they need, it is not easy to find companies that trust you to co-operate. This requires patience,” he said.
Meanwhile, despite the negative repercussions of Covid-19, Sentis said that many opportunities have been created.
“There are new business models that can be created and also new tools. So, entrepreneurs should learn a lot about technology and digital skills to point to right and most important sectors and this will give you better chances of succeeding. This will help you to be more flexible and resilient and adaptable.”
Regarding entrepreneurship in Egypt, Sentis said he sees a lot of young people in Egypt interested in entrepreneurship and it is a growing trend. “This is happening all over the world and Egypt is no exception. Many Egyptians will be treading the path of entrepreneurship in the future,” he said.
Sentis was recently in Egypt to give a lecture at Galala University.
“It was a really positive experience and I was truly impressed with the work done by the Egyptian government to promote higher education by creating more universities that are very ambitious,” he said.
The new Egyptian universities, Sentis said, have the right methodology at a time when every single student has to meet new market needs.
“Galala University is doing great. I saw the participation of students and I saw a lot of interest.”
Sentis praised the culture that Galala University is instilling in students, which is really positive.
“All faculty members are like mentors for students. What is more amazing is the smart strategy behind it and vision of the country that is more prepared for the future. I see how education in Egypt is moving forward,” he said.
The Spanish entrepreneur also met the committee of higher education at the Egyptian government.
“I see with great pride and with great joy how Egypt is creating better future for the new generations starting with education and I see how universities are putting great efforts to support students to create Egypt they want to see in the future,” he said.
Sentis participated in world youth forum in 2019.
“I participated in a round table chaired by the president and it was a great honour. And I was very impressed by the level of commitment to support youth by large investments to bring 8,000 youth leaders in an inclusive and respectable event.
“What is more important is every session had outcomes that were compiled as solutions and recommendations, trying to shape and improve global agenda by youth delegates.
“I was honoured to speak on behalf of Europe in the closing ceremony. I do see how Egypt is putting great efforts.”
Now, Sentis is planning to develop large public private social collaboration projects to improve and expand access to health education and economic development.
“We are preparing to launch initiatives to train millions of people on skills for prosperity that are practical to find or create projects.
“We are staging very large online and offline events to create connections from different countries, sectors and generations,” he said.
“It can connect employers with employees, mentors with mentees. Some investors and I are involved with entrepreneurs in a project called ‘Connection for Growth’.
“We are going to launch the ‘Improve yourself – Improve your world’ campaign to allow everyone to be part of UN Strategic Development Goals (SDGs).
“Our plan is to keep expanding with more partners and more experts. Right now, we have 1,000 experts and 10,000 community members in 150 different countries.”
