Meet the entrepreneurial third year who donated 40k to charity last year

Sohail Iqbal isn’t your ordinary Biology third year: he’s run his own consultancy business, appeared in a Barclays advert, donated thousands of pounds to charity – and now plans to help Syrians trapped in refugee camps.

Last year the 22-year-old from Birmingham gave away his entire income earned through consultancy work to various charities, and his total donations to good causes are “somewhere near the £40,000 mark”.

Sohail told The Tab: “I grew up without a lot of money, so when I did what I did to get to where I am now, I had the charity spirit inside me and wanted to give something back.

“The more money I’ve gotten the more I’ve wanted to be charitable.

“I don’t know how much money I’ve given to charity but it’s in the tens of thousands. It’s mainly because I took a pledge a year ago to donate my entire year’s income to UNICEF.”

Sohail in his uni accomodation

Sohail set up his first business aged 16 and never looked back. He earned most of his money though consulting for companies such as RBS, Tesco and Calvin Klein and now works for the Foreign Office and NRDC Equity Partners.

But Sohail, who is also an Ambassador to Walk Free charity and Children of Peace, said students don’t need a big income to make a big difference.

He said: “I can’t tell people to give to charity, but for me it’s all about the charitable spirit – if people wanted to help and didn’t have the money then I would recommend volunteering, but also sharing posts helps raise awareness and that can lead to somebody with money donating down the line.

“But also push others to help and donate – don’t think that sharing a post is a job done.”

Sohail might have been a successful consultant, but always wanted to come to uni for the social life and professional benefits.

“I’m doing my degree because I noticed my social life and personal well-being were suffering a bit due to my workload when I was younger. Most 16-year-olds aren’t running their own company,” he said.

“University has honestly been a great experience for me, it’s great to just chill out and focus on one thing. The education is important too – I do want a degree.

“Even with my setup, people still questioned me based on my lack of qualifications.

“Work kept me very busy over summer, but clients understand that my degree is important and they respect me enough not to trouble me too much during term time.”

Sohail does immense amounts of work for charity

Sohail’s workload might be heavier than the average student, but he still has time to enjoy a good night out in Yokos.

He added: “I still find time for going out binge drinking. Work isn’t really a factor in my social life a uni – if anything I like having lots of work to do, otherwise I just get really bored.”

Sohail still has an active and fun social life

Social media has helped the humble finalist connect “with people from all walks of life” and “build bridges” in the professional world. He now boasts over over 11 thousand followers on Twitter, and had some tips for those trying to increase their audience:

“The way I got so many followers is being myself, being very sarcastic and funny. But also try and be political – I like to poke fun at things, it really helps the sarcasm come through.

“The more political and satirical I got the more followers I gained. Try to be controversial. I always push the limits but don’t go overboard – especially in Twitter where everything is public and it can come back to bite you in the arse.”

Sohail and his 11k followers

Sohail has experienced fallout on social media firsthand: “There was a time when I woke up every morning with hate mail. Some of it was disgusting and I’ve had to go to the police. But it’s calmed down now. With people like that you should just poke fun back – don’t give them what they want.”

“Haters are tricky because it depends on the issue. If it’s me being myself or political then I just ignore it. But if I know I’ve pushed it too far then it’s time to delete and apologise. Don’t try and fight everything. There is nothing wrong with saying ‘look, I said something wrong and people got offended, I’m sorry’. People will always respect you for saying sorry.”

He even features in the current Barclays advert

Sohail hopes to build on his professional success and has plans to get his hands dirty helping people around the world.

“The plan after university is to do one or two years of aid work. It’s great to give money but I really need to see what is going on with my own eyes to shape me as a person,” he added.

“At the moment my plan is to go to a refugee camp in the Lebanon with either UNICEF or UK Aid.

“My future is torn between working for the UN in New York or going to Tel Aviv in Israel to help the situation there.

“I’ve been offered several jobs but I want a job that is more meaningful than just trying to sell things to people – I want to make a genuine difference with my work.”