As co-founder and CEO of Bridge for Billions, Pablo Santaeufemia (Spain, UWC-USA, Brown ’12) leads an international entrepreneurship network that “creates, designs and manages innovation programs with foundations, corporations and public entities,” says bridgeforbillions.org. With co-founder Jessie Kou, Pablo started Bridge during his graduate studies at Carnegie Mellon, where he earned a master’s degrees in mechanical engineering and technology innovation management.

Bridge for Billions provides training, mentoring and opportunities, and the website says it has “supported the incubation journey of more than 2,450 entrepreneurs from 98 countries, with the support of over 3,000 mentors” from organizations that include Coca- Cola, Visa, Inc. and the UN Industrial Development Organization. Pablo himself has been included in Forbes magazine’s “30 Under 30” as a social entrepreneur, and in 2021 he became an Acumen Fellow, joining a global community of “agents of change” who are fighting poverty.

“For me the reward comes when we see entrepreneurs from all kinds of backgrounds achieve their personal purpose through one of our programs,” he writes. “When we get texts or emails from entrepreneurs from all over the world saying that they got their first big client, a prize, a grant or that they hired their first employee, for me that’s emotional salary. “To see that not only we’re helping founders develop that business that they always wanted but that we’re also generating decent jobs during this crisis is very gratifying. I come to the office every day and share not only the responsibility but the purpose of what we’re doing with a great team.”