Can school connectivity bridge the gap between digital skills training and real, paid work, particularly for young people in areas with limited opportunity?
In this interview, Wisar founder and CEO Sandra Arévalo explains how her AI‑driven platform connects digital talent to flexible global opportunities—strengthening local economies and advancing UN SDG 8.
1. What are the steps required for Wisar to set up a digital work platform in a new country?
We assess feasibility across four dimensions: (1) local talent skills, (2) quality of internet connectivity, (3) the regulatory environment, and (4) pathways to receive payments from abroad. These analyses generate tailored implementation recommendations and kick off a co-creation process — no two programs we’ve run have been identical. If the context isn’t favorable, we hold off. Connectivity is non-negotiable: training people without the ability to connect globally creates frustration, not opportunity. We want positive outcomes from day one.
2. What regions are you active in?
To date, we’ve focused on Latin America and the Caribbean in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank. This year we’re expanding into Africa and the United States. In Africa, we are actively exploring opportunities aligned with International Labour Organization’s PROSPECTS initiative for refugees and host communities, and developing local partner networks to respond to tenders for projects supported by other international trade and development organizations. We hope to be operational as early as next quarter. In the U.S., we are closely following the Pivotal- and Aspen-led WIN Challenge, sponsored by the Melinda French Gates Foundation, with implementation expected in Q4 2026.
3. Giga focuses on school connectivity as a catalyst for community development. Does Wisar see the impact of connected schools in remote digital employment?
Absolutely — and it’s something we’ve seen firsthand. When we began working in Central America, governments came to us with a clear mandate: create economic pathways for young people so they could build livelihoods at home rather than feel forced to emigrate. That meant identifying which profiles could thrive in the global digital economy, and helping countries invest strategically to develop and export those skills — not just serve local demand. School connectivity is central to that. Young people in remote areas often can’t connect with opportunities in their own cities, let alone globally. When schools are connected and digital skills are in place, those young people can stay in their communities and actively contribute to local economic growth. The internet doesn’t just open a window — it opens a career.
4. What specific skills are most in demand right now?
The most sought-after profiles today are people who know how to work with AI — those who can orchestrate AI systems to execute complex workflows. Web development and programming remain relevant, but as AI increasingly writes code, the role is shifting towards an ability to define specifications, quality assurance, and systems integration. Creative and communication roles are also surging. The explosion of AI-powered digital businesses creates enormous demand for content creation, copywriting, and brand communication skills to bring those solutions to market. People who can combine technical fluency with creative expression are especially well positioned.
5. With 60 per cent of its population under age 25, Africa is the world’s youngest continent. The World Bank estimates that in the next 10–15 years, 1.2 billion young people in developing countries will enter the workforce, but trends suggest only 400–420 million jobs will be generated for these workers. Can remote digital work help meet some of this demand?
Without a doubt. And this is not just a development sector conversation anymore — it’s reached the highest levels of global economic leadership. I was particularly encouraged to hear World Bank President Ajay Banga, during the Annual Meetings in Washington last year, place jobs at the very center of the global development agenda, explicitly including self-employment and with a strong emphasis on infrastructure.
What’s equally encouraging is the growing alignment between programs like ILO’s PROSPECTS in Africa, the digital agendas of multiple African governments, and the emerging international financing flowing into digital skills development. There is real consensus forming around the opportunity to train young Africans not only to support local economies, but to connect with global demand. The gap between the 1.2 billion people who will need work and the 400 million jobs that will exist locally cannot be closed by traditional employment alone — remote digital work is one of the most scalable tools we have.
That is precisely why Wisar is developing AI technologies to accelerate the identification of opportunities and reduce the barriers to entry — so that dignified digital work becomes accessible to anyone, anywhere, regardless of where they were born.
6. Wisar has a track record of supporting women and underrepresented groups in Latin America and the Caribbean. Can you talk about that?
Wisar was born from my own experience as a working mother navigating corporate structures that made it nearly impossible to be both professionally ambitious and present as a parent. That led me to connect with a much broader community who needed flexibility — not as a perk, but as a condition for dignified participation in the workforce. But we quickly recognized that flexibility is not just a women’s issue — it’s a family issue, a human issue. It’s needed by people in rural areas with limited local job markets, people with disabilities, migrants facing credential or documentation barriers, and mobile populations who can’t commit to a fixed location. Making work more human and more flexible is not a feature of Wisar — it’s our mission.