Juan Bernardo Sanz Arcaya

To get to work every day, 65% of Latin Americans depend on public transportation — which is often unreliable and unsafe, especially for women.  

This was unacceptable to Juan Bernardo Sanz Arcaya, CEO of C.A. Reaseguradora Internacional de Venezuela.  

So, in 2021, together with a group of incredible co-founders, Sanz Arcaya launched La Wawa, the first private network for public transportation in Venezuela and Colombia, to improve “the lives of our most vulnerable population by dignifying their daily commute.”  

By using world-class technology, La Wawa provides access to low-cost, safe and reliable transportation never seen before in Latin America. Riders digitally book and manage their mobility needs and receive a first-class transportation option for their daily commuting.  

Under the organization’s pillars of certainty, reliability, convenience and safety, La Wawa is making an impact for its riders. Since its launch in October 2020, the number of users has risen from 610 in the first month to more than 38,000 in June 2021. Riders are also benefiting from: 

• Decreased monthly budget for transportation. 
• Increased confidence in the use of transportation outside their own vehicles or public transport. 
• Improved security and confidence in public transportation (around 64% of the riders are female).

When starting the company, the team profoundly understood the company’s impact wouldn’t just be on the riders. Mass transit affects the environment — often negatively.   

Because of this, each of his vehicles completes as many transfers as possible at its maximum capacity, reducing the production of carbon dioxide and the need for single occupancy vehicles on the road. In just eighteen months and operating in three cities in Venezuela and one in Colombia, La Wawa has saved more than 246 million tons of carbon dioxide and has more than 38,000 registered users, which translates to 164,664 rides through 38 active vehicles. In 2023, La Wawa plans to expand to six more cities in Latin America. La Wawa just completed its first millionth boarding!!  

In addition to being the Co-founder, investor and Director of Finance of La Wawa, Arcaya also is the Director in the Chamber of Insurers of Venezuela and leads the finance and new business area of Arcaya Family Office, which is focused on investing and supporting companies and start-ups that are working to solve the country´s most pressing issues.