The common feeling all around the world today is disillusionment. Whether it is a 9-5 corporate worker who is dissatisfied with the trajectory that their life seems to be taking after, an artist who finds the consistent devaluation of art in our times deeply upsetting, or an activist who, faced with the famine of compassion, finds it hard to continue striving for a better world. But far from giving in to it, Carla Virgos, a successful female entrepreneur, and enthusiastic shark girl, encourages people to strive towards a better world.
Born to a Mexican-Spanish family, Carla was raised in Madrid’s historic neighborhoods. Despite the city’s majestic backdrops, it is a landlocked region. This was always a sore spot for Carla, who was a fervent ocean lover. After she obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Bristol in international business management, she was hired as a broker by a major financial services company in London. It was while she was working the routine 9-5 job that she realized that it was time to put her passion first. She booked the first ticket out, and the next thing she knew, she was on her way to the Maldives.
It was there, in the midst of the thrill of diving and the joy of doing what was truly closest to her heart, that she understood how severe the crisis of marine life survival was. With tourists coming from all over the world, the true value of connection was overpowered by the intense commodification of the ocean. People treated it as a resource and recreational site rather than the majestic and spiritual place that it was. This is when Carla, alongside her remarkable team of Maldivian ocean experts, divers, and photographers; Nazykko, Agu, Bot & several others, started Kandu – an ocean safari company promoting sustainability, preservation, and awareness of marine wildlife.
With Kandu, Carla and her team are creating significant change. They offer specially curated trips for individual clients, which introduce them to the nature of the ocean in its true sense. Clients are also offered underwater footage. In addition to this, they provide them with a holistically authentic experience with traditional dishes made with indigenous ingredients. On the sustainability front, Carla’s company offers alternatives to plastic use by providing plates, other utensils made of wheat straw fibers, and flasks to reduce plastic bottles’ use.
While Carla runs Kandu successfully, she still manages her job as a Broker in London. She believes that by striking the right balance, anyone can achieve success and joy and not feel frustrated. She now divides her time between the UK and the Maldives. As a proponent of women’s empowerment and financial freedom, she also has certification in Women in Leadership and Business Analytics, which makes her the perfect example of how much a woman can achieve if she puts her mind and priorities in the right place. She is an ecological activist, a successful female entrepreneur, and an efficient part of the corporate force – on the logout for a better world for herself and her friends, both on land and underwater.