Cuba

Located in the Caribbean, the country of Cuba consists of the largest single island in West Indies archipelago and is an upper middle-income country with a GDP of 100 billion USD in 2018. The economy of Cuba includes an agricultural sector that contributes 4% to GDP and produces some of the following agricultural and fisheries products: sugar, tobacco, coffee, and fish. Despite approximately 25% of coastal waters in Cuba having some form off protection under the designation of marine protected area, local fish stocks have experienced an ongoing decline. Therefore, in 2019, the Government of Cuba enacted new legal reforms that mandates the use of data to inform science-based decision making within the countries fisheries sector, which has created opportunities to help develop novel solutions to fisheries and oceans related data collection. The Cuban economy also has an industrial sector that accounts for 22.7% of the economy and includes industries such as mining and construction as well as a manufacturing sector that produces goods that include agricultural equipment, cement, steel, and pharmaceuticals.

The largest segment of Cuba’s economy is the service sector, which accounts for 73.4% of the countries GDP. Aside from retail, tourism is the largest single industry within Cuba’s service sector, which in 2018 accommodated 4.6 million visitor arrivals. In recent years, the Government of Cuba has opened many previously state only areas of the economy to private enterprises, which has resulted in a large influx of entrepreneurs in the Cuban tourism industry offering services such as private restaurants (paladars) and bed and breakfast operations (casa particulares). Therefore, numerous opportunities exist to help sustainably develop Cuba’s tourism industry with direct benefits for local communities.

As mentioned above, Cuba’s recent opening of acceptable economic activities in its private sector has led to many entrepreneurs entering the economy in recent years, with an estimated 500,000 self employed individuals currently running businesses across the island nation. Some supports are available for Cuban startups wishing to grow their businesses, such as an accelerator, an incubator, and networking groups. Currently, startups in Cuba are engaged in a diverse array of industries, including information technology, clean energy technology, and medical technology.