Guyanese environmentalist and founder of the firm Environmental Management Consultants (EMC) Shyam Nokta was yesterday bestowed the prestigious Anthony N Sabga Caribbean Award for Excellence in the category for entrepreneurship.
President Irfaan Ali presented the award to Nokta and underscored the need for citizens to strive for excellence.
Nokta and Surinamese Anushka Sonai were yesterday given their awards a ceremony held at the Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown. He will receive TT$500,000, a medal and a citation, while Sonai’s cash prize will be spilt with the person she shares the award with, Barbadian ophthalmologist and oculoplastic surgeon, Dr Kim Jebodhsingh.
Sonai won in the category, Public and Civic Contributions. She is the first awardee outside of the English-speaking Caribbean.
“Excellence, though, is not the reserve of trailblazers and high-achievers only. Excellence is also epitomised by the simple men and women who consistently do ordinary things extraordinarily well,” Ali stated in the foreword of this year’s awards booklet.
The same message was echoed in his brief remarks at yesterday’s awards ceremony,
“Let this be an inspiration for the rest of us in the region, to work hard diligently to achieve the type of excellence that would make a positive contribution on humanity and change the prospects for people and advance the cause of development.”
In his acceptance remarks, Nokta thanked his family, friends and a number of other persons, including businessman Edward Boyer and private sector executive, Ramesh Dookhoo, for their support over the years. Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo was also singled out for encouraging Nokta in the area of environmental studies and work done on Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy.
Nokta is the founder of EMC, which provides environmental services to the private sector, multilateral organisations, NGOs, and governments.
A profile of Nokta states that his company began in a small room of his parents’ home and he was inspired to start the company “after noticing a growing trend in environmental awareness being translated into action by governments and multilateral organizations” but realised there was a gap in the local market.
For Sonai, founder of Creative Tech Hub Caribbean (CTHC), and who is referred to as ”the center of many Surinamese and regional initiatives for young people and women” in her country to access training, her award is evidence that marginalised groups can defy the odds.
She spoke of the many “NOs” that she has heard as she advocated for ICT skills training for vulnerable groups.
Sonai’s CTHC business is a cluster of companies that aims to develop the Caribbean’s technology ecosystem. It comprises of five companies and all the profits of three are invested into the other two, as she expands those charitable initiatives.
Other laureates this year are Jamaican author Marlon James in the Arts and Letters category, and Trinidadian professor Christine Carrington in the Science and Technology category.
The Awards are made in four areas (as of 2015): Arts & Letters, Science & Technology, Public & Civic Contributions, and Entrepreneurship. The awards began as a biennial event in 2006, and went annual from 2010. As of 2022, 54 laureates have been named in the four categories and the foundation says that to date it has given out nearly TT$25 million.
