Nicole Joseph-Chin is a vital voice for social change

Nicole Joseph-Chin’s life reflects one ethos: that we can achieve anything that we set our minds and actions toward. As she puts it, “You can show up anywhere and be successful. If you can dream, you can create and you can bring things that don’t exist into fruition.”

Her life is a testament to just that. Having advocated over the years in the domain of women’s health across five continents, her life’s work aligns closely to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and she is highly sought after globally for her insights and remarkable ability to champion public-private partnerships and create real social impact.

The public may be familiar with her name as for the past two decades, Joseph-Chin has been the driving force behind her brand – Ms Brafit – a company started to help women in the Caribbean find the right fit with bras as a matter of health but also as a matter of confidence, comfort and dignity too. Lesser known, is how engaged this social entrepreneur is on a global scale. Since 2011, she has been involved with Vital Voices, a US-based, non-profit organisation that grew out of the US State Department’s Vital Voices Democracy Initiative, following the UN’s Fourth Conference on Women in Beijing. It is aimed at promoting the advancement of women as "vital voices" in the development of communities. She also keeps herself occupied in her capacity as a rapporteur, reporting on international, high-profile conferences and is engaged in several fellowships and organisations around the world which generally have one thing in common – using business for the betterment of people.

“In my global communities, I connect with social entrepreneurs everyday who are willing and ready to understand the impact that we need to make towards better business and a better world. Social entrepreneurship really comes out of some kind of pain that the entrepreneur may have experienced; whether in some cases it may be water insecurity or, in my case, having to have custom-fit bras designed for me since I was nine years of age which lead me to create Ms Brafit. Since then I have been in discussion on related breast health challenges such as breast ironing in parts of Africa and general issues of breast health.

"It shows how your business can be more than for-profit, but can also be part of the larger picture too,” she told WMN.

In the last few years, Joseph-Chin has been selected for outstanding opportunities including the International Visitor Leadership Programme by the US Embassy, which opened new possibilities to the ways that social change could be created by women just like her. She was also invited to Santo Domingo to meet then US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton as part of a global gathering focused on pathways to prosperity for women in Latin America and the Caribbean.

“Sixteen like-minded women were invited to discuss developing entrepreneurial ecosystems for women in the region and out of that the Women Entrepreneurial Network for the Caribbean was born,” she recalled.

“I found myself constantly being invited to partner or participate in various programmes including the Cherie Blair Foundation (former UK prime minister Tony Blair’s wife) where I facilitated the kick-off of the 2018 programme, conducting a masterclass titled How to Create Social Impact as an Entrepreneur, to over 400 women from around the world in that audience. It was, however, Vital Voices that really captured my imagination as I was becoming more deliberate about what I would be adding to the "pot of pelau" of things that I had on my agenda.”

As a result of the diverse spectrum of programming and thought leadership that is the foundation of her global work, she has been awarded Vital Voices Fellowships in four major global initiatives that centre on women’s leadership. Her business model and personal ethos is in alignment with the five pillars of Vital Voices’ Global Partnerships. These include Bold Ideas, Pay it Forward, A Driving Force, Strong Roots in the Community and Connecting Across Lines that Divide. Joseph-Chin is also the designated TT flagbearer for the Vital Voices’ Global Mentoring Walk hosted annually in commemoration of International Women’s Day.

Recently, she was invited by a Florida-based university to discuss her insights regarding creating social impact in health, where she addressed leading surgeons from around the world. She also invests her time mentoring like-minded businessmen and businesswomen in every corner of the world.

“I’m an experienced classroom educator, but in my own journey and in search of empowering others I have found that life is the best experiential classroom. I do conduct workshops in small groups as well as connect with persons wanting to for example, transition careers or forge a new path for themselves,” Joseph-Chin explained.

“It’s just my passion to be different where people see walls and barriers. I instead see (and help others see) opportunities. The businesses that I try to support are always ones that are impact-driven,” she added.

“We have to find a way to build the appreciation of social entrepreneurship in the Caribbean and not just to simply see entrepreneurship as running a business for the sake of it. We have to work towards creating social mindsets and socially minded individuals too,” Joseph-Chin said.

She is very comfortable with a multi-dimensional agenda that reflects her personality – but it can be demanding.

“I never say I’m busy. I’m careful of the words I use, words have power and especially the words we tell ourselves. My faith is steeped in thinking there’s a bigger being than me and I’m not going to be bigger than myself without that being.”

With multiple hats to wear, Joseph-Chin has some immensely useful guidelines that she lives by.

“I get up very early – often starting my day by 3:30 am so I can be up to communicate with other women in Vital Voices and across other spheres in different time zones. But also so I can peacefully get my day underway. I’m very mindful of my relationships and the people around me – it’s important to keep your friendships and relationships strong as they keep you grounded. And I read a little each day, to also be motivated and inspired just as I am by the people around me."

Instrumental to her success as well, is a nurturing spouse, strong networks, supportive mentors and ecosystems. As she puts it, “Keep working and investing in the process and don’t think of social entrepreneurship as a means to recognition. You have to have the guts and the grit to build strong ecosystems for change and impact in real ways. Above all, remember that "no" is an opportunity and "yes" is a responsibility. So know that there will be obstacles in your way as you seek to make the world a better space, but even from a small idea, everything is possible.”