US President Barack Obama visited a Cuban “cerveceria” on Monday to talk about entrepreneurship and US-Cuba business engagement. This was his speech. Let me begin by thanking our hosts. This is my very first visit to a Cuban cervecería. I hear they’ve got some great pollo — Moros y Cristianos. And, of course, cerveza. But … Read more
Inscribed at his grave in London is one of Karl Marx’s most powerful statements, “The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it.” Written in 1845, Marx’s revolutionary thinking set off a century defined by the struggle between communism and capitalism – culminating in Cuba’s emergence as … Read more
Ten Cuban-American business leaders published a full-page advertisement in today’s Miami Herald after a recent trip to Cuba. According to an article in the Miami Herald, the ten business leaders returned from Cuba convinced that stronger ties to the U.S. would help Cubans. The advertisement, “An Open Letter to Our Fellow Cuban-Americans”, says, “We saw … Read more
According to a report by Florida International University, StartUp Cuba and FIU have teamed up to offer a summer program designed to foster and support entrepreneurs in Cuba. The six week program program, called InCubando@FIU, will begin in Miami on May 2016. The curriculum will consist of business classes, taught in Spanish, by instructors affiliated … Read more
The first Startup Weekend in Cuba ended last month with great enthusiasm for the startups teams’ success in organizing ideas and turning them into reality. The organizers for Startup Weekend Havana included: Ramphis Castro (no relation to Fidel), Medardo Rodriguez, Rodney Hernandez and Alex Medina. The event’s facilitator was Santiago Zavala, Venture Partner, at 500Startups. … Read more
The Cuba Journal caught up with Alex Medina today to discuss tomorrow’s kickoff of Startup Weekend’s first event in Cuba — to be held in Havana at the Panorama Hotel. Startup Weekend organizes high-impact, experiential events that foster entrepreneurship and community building in every corner of the world. As of last year, the organization hosted … Read more
by Simons Chase According to economic development theory, technology transfer and deregulation hold great promise as a pathway for developing countries, like Cuba, to lift incomes, stimulate foreign direct investment and enhance quality of life. To date, the ligature between this type of neoclassical growth model and actual results has been government policy supported by … Read more
Despite President Obama’s recent initiative to normalize bilateral relations, US Congress remains a major obstacle to Cuba’s decades long political and economic estrangement. The Helms-Burton Act in particular requires outstanding claims against Cuba to be resolved before sanctions are lifted – and also limits executive authority to fully lift sanctions until Cuba’s government is democratically … Read more
Filling the vacuum left by the unmendable rift between Cuba’s iron ideology and its now tangible economic and political outcome is a group of dedicated US entrepreneurs with a mission to change the lives of millions of Cubans. Dabbling in the DNA of the island nation’s economy – and its culture – in its formative … Read more
