Many MSMEs and private companies in Cuba are supported from the US

It is no secret to anyone that any products that are not found in the state institutions, can now be found in any private business or small and medium enterprise (Mipymes) in the island. How do they work beyond government sanctioned imports and who supports this business?

A report by the Telemundo 51 chain in Miami this week summarized that money from US-based Cuban investors was behind these businesses on the island. The money will boost small private businesses on the island and improve the wages of Cubans who work there. More production, better dividends.

“I am financially well off. The salary I earn has nothing to do with what I earned before”, was assured An employee of a new textile company in Camagüey, central Cuba.

These private companies were approved in 2021 and there are already more than 8,000 across the island with varying sizes and workforces. Some who were previously labeled as hoarders are now employees and “shipped food”, something favorable to a few, although the “ordinary Cuban” ends up there to make ends meet.

MSMEs and private in Cuba

According to this information, many of these companies have permission to import the raw materials they need from abroad, including the United States, which is why dozens of containers leave Miami for Havana.

“The Obama measures adopted by Trump and the measures supported by Biden are precisely aimed at promoting civil society, and we see that the ban does not apply to your cousin in Havana and your brother-in-law who lives in Santiago,” said a former Democratic congressman.

“Cubans living in Florida do business with their relatives, partners who have done business in Cuba,” he added. Support also comes from nearby places like Panama or Canada.

“Five months ago a pound of chicken was a dollar in Havana and a little bit on the street…not now, why? Because the whole world is starting to bring in cheap American chicken,” Garcia said.