Become visionaries

AS HE WAS recently conferred with an honorary doctorate by the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT), Sieunarine Coosal sought to light the flame of inspiration within the next generation of young entrepreneurs.

“You must be guided by a vision for a better world,” he said, addressing UTT graduates gathered on October 28 at the National Academy for the Performing Arts, Port of Spain.

The executive chairman of Coosal’s Group of Companies urged graduates to believe in themselves, become adaptable, stay open-minded, remain committed to personal growth and never to shy away from new ideas and perspectives.

He also made an interesting distinction between being a visionary and being just a dreamer.

A visionary, he said, had the drive to turn ideas and plans into a reality, and acquired the tools to do so. He challenged young people to decide: “Are you a visionary? Or are you a dreamer?”

Mr Coosal’s message is a timely one.

Now more than ever, in a world fraught with geopolitical, environmental and social uncertainties, the gap between having a dream and making that dream a reality grows larger.

Equally, the imperative within business for greater levels of social responsibility deepens, even as it is all too easy for commercial entities to give in to the realities of a world seemingly beholden to a range of dark forces. Having a clear vision is part of what it means to have hope.

Mr Coosal’s own life story is a good example.

He was born in Todd’s Road, Caparo, the youngest son in a family of 14. His father died when he was just 18 months old; his eldest brother, Ajodha Persad Coosal, managed the family’s quarry and transport business, appointing his youngest sibling an office boy.

Having begun his working life as more or less an errand-runner who had never received tertiary education, Mr Coosal grew into a formidable businessman and has by now received honorary degrees not only from the UTT, but also UWI, which conferred an honorary doctorate on him in 2021.

Just a few years earlier, he was inducted into the TT Chamber of Commerce’s Hall of Fame. He received the Chaconia Gold Medal in 2023.

If Mr Coosal seeks to inspire a new generation of reformers, that generation is already open to embracing contemporary ideas of environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters in their business models.

There is focus on attracting diverse talent, green practices and becoming socially conscious organisations.

But according to the Caribbean Corporate Governance Pulse Survey 2024, by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, fewer than ten per cent of company leaders strongly agree such matters are on the boardroom agenda enough.

And given the many hazards businesses now face, it is unsurprising that a 2023 research paper by the Employers’ Consultative Association and the International Labour Organisation also found many small and medium enterprises are not fully prepared to face looming risks.

That is why Mr Coosal’s entreaty to budding leaders to build up their vision is so important.