Hope grows in Cuba

In Cuba, living under a Communist government that’s both restrictive and fickle amplifies challenges for entrepreneurs.  But driven by resourcefulness and creativity, despite or even because of this, entrepreneurship is thriving.

Meet Fanny and Fernando, two Unexpected Entrepreneurs who never dreamed of starting their own businesses. A combination of timing, opportunity, and a sustainable approach brought them each success in two of Cuba’s biggest growth industries: hospitality and agriculture.

Fernando using academic know-how and his bare hands overcame unanticipated challenges. And Fanny never wavered from her goal of running her own successful bed and breakfast, while learning about the world through her international guests. Here, you’ll hit the lively streets of Havana where Fanny supports her local markets and you’ll venture out to Fernando’s farm to experience his vision for the future of a Cuba.

Unexpected Entrepreneur Fanny learned seven languages to provide a warm welcome for the people who came from around the world to stay at the bed and breakfast where she worked. A frequent guest, a Canadian businessman, befriended Fanny and her family before giving her a $35,000 loan to buy her own B+B, or casa particular, as they’re called in Cuba. It was a risk. He had no recourse if Fanny didn’t pay him back.

Fanny and her husband used the money to buy a four-bedroom apartment in the center of Havana. They shared one bedroom with their two small children to maximize their earnings and pay back the loan as fast as possible. “I don’t see it as a sacrifice.”

Less than a year later, the U.S. rapprochement with Cuba opened the floodgates to tourism. Few modern hotels and the Cuban government’s agreement to allow people to list casas particulares on Air BnB fuelled a gold rush. Owners like Fanny earn $250 per booking – 10 times the average monthly income. Fanny soon became a super-host with a one-year waiting list for rooms in her home. Three years after she received the loan, Fanny paid it back, and earned an education in the process. “He taught me how to be a businesswoman.”

She also learned how to navigate an unreliable food supply still dependent on ration cards.

Unexpected Entrepreneur Fernando is changing that. He’s an agro-economist who left a career as an academic and international speaker to create a farm that’s become a multi-layered model for sustainability. He dug a solar-powered stone well with his hands, and methodically planted hundreds of flowerbeds, fresh herbs and vegetables to help control pests without chemicals and cultivate fragrant honey. In addition to the government markets, private restaurants and social enterprises Fernando distributes his produce to, he also developed a cooperative. Castro was so impressed after visiting Fernando’s farm, he gave him two further tracts of land.

Fernando hosts local and foreign visitors, serving lunch cooked using manure-converted biogas, but his real vision is to replicate the model all over Cuba, while encouraging young people to take up farming and agrotourism. “Without modern equipment like tractors, farming is the last thing young people want to do.” His next project is a 12-farm development. He’s mentoring young entrepreneurs eager to emulate his success.