sakr Entrepreneur &
Business Enthusiast
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Entrepreneur and Business EnthusiastVienna

AI strategist, project manager, funding advisor and instructor, with a growth mindset, design thinking and disruptive innovation at the core.

Entrepreneur and youth advocate with an intercultural outlook: I build and run companies, a university college and civil society organisations, and bring the same hands-on approach to businesses, universities and young people across Europe, the Mediterranean and Africa. I work on mindset first: design thinking to understand people and markets, disruptive innovation to change what no longer works, and the discipline to deliver: AI transformation, EU projects from proposal to final report, funding secured and teams trained to make it work.

Sakr speaking at a training Sakr
€20M+ of EU funding secured since 2023
50+ organisations guided through AI transformation
10,000+ supported learners and beneficiaries
Sakr at a meeting
Egyptian-AustrianGrew up in EgyptBased in ViennaSelf-made entrepreneurArabic · German · EnglishPhD candidateBorn 1995Founder since 2017

About me

Egyptian-Austrian, self-made, and still learning

I grew up in Egypt and built my life and my businesses in Vienna. I came to Austria as a student, worked my way through international organisations, the UN and EU projects, and founded my first company with no outside capital. Today I am a self-made millionaire who runs a group of companies, a youth organisation with branches in three countries, a university college in the making and a consultancy practice across the Mediterranean.

Two worlds shaped me: the energy and resourcefulness of Egypt, and the structure and opportunity of Europe. I move between them every week, in Arabic, German and English, and I bring both to everything I build: a growth mindset, design thinking to understand people and markets, and the courage for disruptive innovation when the old way has stopped working.

What drives me is simple: giving people and organisations the competences, tools and funding to shape their own future.

What I do

Four roles, one way of working

Strategy, delivery, funding and learning, from the first idea to the final report. The same mindset runs through all four: think like a designer, act like a founder, deliver like a project manager.

Sakr coaching a small group at the laptop
50+

AI Strategist

Developed and supported the AI transformation of more than 50 organisations: from the first use case to tools, training and governance.

 50+

Project Manager

More than 50 completed projects and 20 currently ongoing: partnerships, budgets, reporting and teams across Europe and the Mediterranean.

 €20M+

Funding Advisor

Secured more than €20 million of EU funding since 2023 through Erasmus+ and CERV, for applicants and partners of every size.

 60+

Instructor

More than 30 topics and over 60 programmes organised for young people, youth workers, trainers, adult educators, vocational educators and vocational students.

Impact

Results that come from successfully completed work, not wishes!

12+ years in international organisations, the UN and EU projects
€20M+ EU funding secured since 2023 (Erasmus+, CERV)
50+ organisations supported in their AI transformation
50+ projects completed
20 projects currently ongoing
30+ training topics delivered
60+ programmes organised
10,000+ learners trained
45+ countries reached

Organisations

What I have built and lead

A company group, a family of civil society organisations, a university college and a consultancy practice, all based in Vienna and working across Europe and the Mediterranean.

Each one grew out of the same idea: give people and organisations the competences, tools and funding to shape their own futures.

Sakr working with participants on a tablet
Business Acceleration

ACCELERAS Group

Founder and Managing Director. Vienna-based group founded in 2023, built around EU projects: proposal writing, implementation, AI transformation, IT and design. Four entities, one team, working with universities, chambers, VET providers and NGOs in 45+ countries across Europe and the Mediterranean.

ACCELERAS Ventures GmbHACCELERAS KGACCELERAS ManpowerACCELERAS Technology
 Civic Society

Youth Organisations

Austria, France and Croatia

Founder and Managing Director. Training and consulting organisations for young people and youth workers: local labs, Erasmus+ exchanges and training courses, popular diplomacy with the Arabic-speaking community, and EU projects that turn new skills into action.

EMOTiC · AustriaAOD · AustriaEAST · CroatiaOEMFCI · France
 Academia

ERASTIUM

Erasmus Applied Studies Private University College

Founder. A private university college in Vienna, founded in 2026 by practitioners who built the learning place they wish they had had: learning on real EU projects, the most affordable fees, up-to-date curricula and the highest share of hands-on practice. First programmes start in 2027, with lecturers drawn from EU policy, funding and social enterprise.

Vienna · founded 2026erastium.at
 Consultancy

Mediterranean Consultancy

Partner organisations in North Africa

Consultant. Strategy, EU funding and capacity building for organisations in Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt: from the first concept and partner search to funded projects and trained teams.

INNOVATRIX · AlgeriaTUTORIUM · TunisiaMOMENTUM · EgyptCOMPASS · Egypt

Areas of expertise

Growth mindsetLeadershipDesign thinkingDisruptive innovationAI strategyEU fundingProject developmentProject managementTraining of trainersCapacity buildingEntrepreneurshipYouth employabilityPeacebuildingConflict transformationPopular diplomacyCommunity engagementMultilateral negotiationsPolicymakingSustainability and SDGsHuman rightsDiversity and inclusionProposal writingSocial innovationDigitalisationInnovative learning methodsGamificationOutdoor educationDigital wellbeingYouth empowerment

"Every step in the right direction, no matter how small, can create meaningful change."

Participatory, reciprocal and emancipatory methods in every training and every project. Mindset before tools, design thinking before solutions, and the courage for disruptive innovation when the old way has stopped working.

Training

More than 30 topics, over 60 programmes

Interactive, hands-on programmes, online and in person, built around real projects rather than slides.

Every programme follows the same logic: start from the participants' own reality, work on a real case or challenge, and leave with something that can be used the next day. Simulations, role-plays, design sprints, outdoor learning and game-based methods replace lectures, and every group ends with its own action plan.

From young people in their first exchange to vocational educators integrating AI into their classrooms, the format adapts to the audience, but the mindset stays the same: curiosity, ownership and the courage to try a new way of doing things.

Sakr training in front of a whiteboard on conflict analysis

Who I train

Young people

Aged 14 to 30, from every background: labs, exchanges and simulations where they lead the action themselves.

Youth workers

Erasmus+ training courses on methods they can take straight back to their own groups.

Trainers

Training of trainers: designing sessions, facilitating groups and debriefing learning with impact.

Adult educators

Learner-centred, participatory methods for adults who want practice rather than lectures.

Vocational educators

Bringing green, digital and AI competences into the classroom and the workshop.

Vocational students

Hands-on skills for employability: entrepreneurship, digital tools and working in teams.

Education

Fifteen years of studying how societies, security and systems work

From political science in Vienna to intelligence and security studies in Liverpool, and now a doctorate on AI-based dynamic modelling for cyber resilience at the Faculty of Security Engineering of the University of Žilina.

Sakr in discussion during a training session
2026–2030

PhD · AI-based dynamic modelling for cyber resilience

Faculty of Security Engineering, University of Žilina

2020–2023

Postgraduate Diploma in Intelligence and Security Studies

Liverpool John Moores University

2018–2021

Master of Political Science

University of Vienna

2015–2018

Bachelor of Political Science

University of Vienna

Professional certifications

Project managementSocial entrepreneurshipDesign thinkingInnovation managementDiplomacy and Business Negotiations

Experience

Erasmus+ from every side, since 2014

Roles

Participant, trainer, facilitator, project manager, proposal writer and evaluator

Across youth, higher education, sport, VET and adult education.

Funding programmes

Erasmus+, CERV, Horizon Europe, AMIF

Proposals from €10k to €4M, as applicant, partner and advisor.

Before that

Corporate settings, international organisations and the UN

Hands-on experience across Europe and Africa before founding his own organisations.

Organisations I work with: EAST – Strategic Training AcademyMomentumMultiiNterCouncil of Europe programmes

Partners

Universities, chambers and training providers I work with

A selection of the organisations in ACCELERAS consortia across Europe and beyond, from applied-science universities to public authorities and certification bodies.

Universities and higher education

UC Leuven-LimburgBelgium
Hochschule BurgenlandAustria
Halmstad UniversitySweden
University of ŽilinaSlovakia

Public authorities, chambers and business support

Slovak Chamber of Commerce and IndustrySlovakia
CEEI BurgosSpain
Isparta Provincial Directorate of National EducationTürkiye
STHEV – Thessalian Businesses and IndustriesGreece

VET, certification and training

Fundacja VCCPoland
RBB Technik SchwerinGermany
EdushakersBelgium
CEDEXCroatia

Testimonials

What partners say

Voices from coordinators, rectors, trainers and partners who have worked with me on EU projects, trainings and consultancies.

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Photos

Highlights from the work

Sakr leading a session at the flipchart
Group photo of a youth exchange outdoors in Vienna
Sakr explaining at a workshop
Facilitating a circle discussion
Participants mapping ideas on a poster
Presenting to a seminar circle
Training course group on the carpet
Workshop in the seminar room
Participants with their certificates
Youth exchange group in the park
Trainer group photo with certificates

Training initiatives

Since 2017, I have been dynamically and proactively designing and implementing development and empowerment initiatives

Conferences, youth exchanges and training courses I have organised, trained or led, with participants from Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and the Caucasus.

Year
Type
Region

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EU projects

Projects I coordinate and partner in

Erasmus+ and EU partnerships across VET, adult education, youth, AI and sustainability, with ACCELERAS, EMOTiC and partners in 45+ countries.

Organisation
Field

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Work with me

Have an idea, a call or an organisation that needs a push?

Tell me what you are working on and I will tell you how I can help: AI strategy, project management, funding or training.

m.sakr@acceleras.io Connect on LinkedIn