CubaPLUS Magazine

About three decades ago, Cuba adopted measures to promote self-employment, although it was not until last year that this option gained momentum with the approval of the law that recognizes different types of properties and economic participants called Mipymes (micro, small and medium- sized enterprises), both private and state-owned.

According to the law, these new businesses may have up to 10 workers for micro companies; up to 35 for small companies and up to 100 for medium-sized companies. To be established, they must be approved in different branches of the economy, with the exception of strategic sectors such as health, telecommunications, energy, defense and press.

MANDAO
MARTA ELISA DEUS
@mandao

From the law’s adoption until now, 5,360 Mipymes have been approved, of which 5,251 are private, 51 state-owned and 58 non-agricultural cooperatives. Among them, Mandao is perhaps one of the most innovative, because in Cuba, until recently, there were no establishments with home deliveries.

Approved as a logistics operating company in November 2021, Mandao
- which means in Cuba ‘to buy groceries at the market’
- is a novelty because, in addition to Havana, it already has branches in Holguín, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, Santa Clara and Trinidad.

Mandao has two types of clients, said company co- founder Marta Elisa Deus, to this publication. On the one hand, there are the establishments that decide to place themselves in the application and on the other hand, there are the users who order food service and product delivery at home.

To reach the level we have set ourselves as a company, there is still a lot of work to be done, such as improving the service. The application and technology must be closer to the user’s experience and we intend to have a presence in most of the country and reach more restaurants to unite more families, both inside and outside Cuba. These are things we are constantly working on," she said.

DONDE DORIAN
DORIAN CARBONELL
@dondedoriancuba

Another enterprise, perhaps one of the best known, is Donde Dorian, whose story of success, effort, sacrifice and talent is the work of a model turned stylist, Dorian Carbonell, and his brother Damín. The first is an artist, a wizard of color and scissors, and the second, from the administrative side, watches over the running of everything.

Donde Dorian, more than a salon, has become a label, a brand and a lifestyle. Known by many as the hairdresser of the artists, its founder is the creator of the image (as far as hair) boasted by a number of today’s Cuban celebrities.

AMA
ANA MAR&IáA TORRES ABELLA AND MAR&IáA CARLA PUGA MAR&IáN
@ama_habana

Continuing with art is AMA, whose name refers to the union of two young musicians who founded their brand two years ago, starting from the desire to use fashion accessories that could not be found here. Out of the need to express themselves, they began to design and create completely handmade pieces, inspired by the diversity that characterizes the largest of the Antilles and the Caribbean.

For Ana María Torres Abella and María Carla Puga Marín, at the helm of AMA, the essence of their brand is to convey a message of love, life, joy and diversity, so they decided to create a coffee shop where art, fashion, gastronomy and a healthy lifestyle merge. Under the evocative name of La Penúltima Casa, this venture works as a digital communication agency which started as a blog in 2019. Today, after overcoming obstacles along the way, it is an organization that educates and empowers brands, people and organizations in online spaces. It offers products, training and events related to communication and digital marketing.

LA PEN&UáLTIMA CASA
KATIA S&AáNCHEZ MART&IáNEZ
@lapenultimacasa

While it still has a long way to go to achieve the objective it set itself, founder Katia Sánchez told this publication, it already provides communication strategies or campaigns to a portfolio of clients in the country, and it also has some foreign companies hiring its services.

COLOR CAF&Eá
LOYPA IZAGUIRRE
@colorcafehabana

And nothing better after a good and healthy dinner than a cup of coffee. Although this time it comes wrapped in a beautiful dress. Color Café is another of the companies developed in Cuba, started six years ago to address the lack of well-made and well-designed garments on the Cuban market, according to its founder, Loypa Izaguirre. The idea was to rescue this ancestral activity that had been lost and at the same time she decided to mix fashion with gastronomy and give a more cultural touch to the space she has to display garments to clients, including many made to measure, while they can enjoy a coffee or a cocktail refreshment.