Delving Into the Depths with Dike Rostant: Establishing Social Enterprises in the Caribbean

# [COSTAATT President Dr. Keith Nurse on the Importance of Social Entrepreneurship and Financial Sustainability in the Caribbean](youtube_link)

In this video, Dr. Keith Nurse, President of COSTAATT, discusses the significance of social entrepreneurship as a catalyst for social innovation. He takes pride in the work of his colleague, Dr. Ambica Medine, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Business and Information Technologies, who co-authored a book titled “Social Entrepreneurship: Strategies for Caribbean NPOs Financial Sustainability in Trinidad and Tobago”. Dr. Medine joins him for a conversation about her research and its implications for the Caribbean region.

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[YouTube Transcript](#transcript)

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## Transcript:

Greetings and welcome to in-depth MDK roster! Costa President, Dr. Keith Nurse, highlights the importance of social entrepreneurship as a key catalyst in social innovation. Now, he must be proud that a colleague is working to raise capacity in that sector since Senior Lecturer in the School of Business and Information Technologies, Dr. Ambica Medine, co-authored a book titled “Social Entrepreneurship: Strategies for Caribbean NPOs Financial Sustainability in Trinidad and Tobago”. We join her now for a conversation.

Thank you, welcome Dr. Medin, thank you so much for making the time. Now I want to start off by getting an idea of the gap that you would have observed in your academic leanings that led you to co-authoring this work.

This book evolved from my completed doctoral thesis in social entrepreneurship last year. The gap basically is that there is no research actually on social entrepreneurship in the Caribbean. While there is an emphasis on innovation, not much is understood about social entrepreneurship itself. Innovation alone will not make an organization sustainable. Therefore, I looked at social entrepreneurship from a strategic standpoint of how social-based organizations can become sustainable.

My work as a lecturer involved running a class on social entrepreneurship, where I had my students go into the social sector to understand how they operate and perform. I realized that these organizations faced challenges in operating efficiently. They were not measuring their social impact effectively and relied heavily on government and private sector organizations for sustainability. As a result, I conducted my doctoral research to transform these social sector organizations and, consequently, the social sector in Trinidad and Tobago, and the wider Caribbean.

Thank you so much for that. It seems that efficiency in social entrepreneurship often relies on the work of passionate individuals. However, sustainability can be challenging if the organization is dependent on a single person. Could you please provide a working definition for social entrepreneurship?

Certainly. Social entrepreneurship is a genre of entrepreneurship that combines creativity, innovation, and the use of business tools and techniques to achieve a double bottom line – financial viability and sustainable social change.

That’s a great definition, Dr. Medine. How does your work help address the gap and the lack of research specifically tailored to the Caribbean?

My book is the first to focus on making social-based organizations sustainable and operationally efficient through the lens of social entrepreneurship. While many individuals focus on creating innovative social change, they often lack the necessary business knowledge and tools to ensure sustainability. Additionally, these organizations tend to take on multiple programs simultaneously, which leads to inefficiencies in management.

By examining the external environment, particularly the work in Europe and the UK, I found that social enterprises operate with a double bottom line and are self-sustaining through earned income revenue generation. This is why I conducted this research – to bridge the gap and provide practical solutions for social sector organizations in the Caribbean.

That’s incredibly important work, Dr. Medine. Can you tell us about the feedback you receive from your students? Do you see opportunities for implementing a plan of action for sustainability within the non-profit sector?

Absolutely. Many non-profit organizations believe that making a profit contradicts their status, but that is a fallacy. Non-profit organizations can still generate income to sustain themselves. It’s crucial to shift the mindset and understand that financial sustainability is a key factor in creating long-term social impact. Through my research, I aim to empower my students with the knowledge and tools to navigate the intersection of academia and activism and facilitate practical, business-oriented approaches towards sustainability.

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Source: [Original Video](youtube_link)

COSTAATT President Dr. Keith Nurse highlights the importance of social entrepreneurship as a key catalyst in social innovation. He must be proud that a colleague is working to raise capacity in that sector since Senior Lecturer in the School of Business and Information Technologies, Dr Ambica Medine co-authored a book titled ‘Social Entrepreneurship: Strategies for Caribbean NPOs Financial Sustainability in Trinidad and Tobago.’ She joins us now for a conversation.