TL;DR Cuba has about 10.9 million people, a private small-business sector that only became legal in 2021 and now counts several thousand firms, and an electricity grid that can't meet demand. The ideas that fit keep businesses running through power cuts, grow and keep more food locally, or serve the private guesthouses and shops that make up the new sector.

The market in numbers

  • Population: about 10.94 million in 2025[1].
  • GDP per capita: about US$9,605 in 2020, the latest year the World Bank publishes[2].
  • Internet use: about 70% of people were online in 2024[3].
  • Private firms: 9,550 private mipymes were operating at the end of March 2025, up from 9,236 at the end of 2024, according to the national statistics office as reported by OnCuba[4].
  • Electricity: on 3 July 2026 the state utility forecast a shortfall of 2,236 MW against demand of 3,150 MW, leaving about 71% of the country without power at peak[5].
  • Currency: the Cuban peso (CUP). The central bank's published official rate on 22 October 2026 was 734 CUP to the US dollar[6].

What founders here actually have to work with

The honest starting point - power is the binding constraint. When roughly 70% of demand goes unmet at peak[5], anything that stores, makes or saves electricity for a bakery, a workshop or a guesthouse gets attention immediately.

Food is the second. Local growing, fish farming and keeping produce cold all matter more when imports are hard to pay for.

The private sector gives you a customer base, since thousands of mipymes now run cafés, workshops, transport and rentals[4]. They operate under rules that change often though. Sales are mostly in pesos through a bank account[7], so price in CUP and plan for imported parts that you may have to pay for in hard currency. US sanctions also limit which foreign software, payment tools and suppliers you can use, so build with that in mind [Requires validation].

Ideas that fit Cuba

All of these were researched for India, so the rupee costs, Indian licences and UPI payments don't carry over. Treat each as a brief to rebuild.

Power through the blackouts

  • Islehold: Running a building's solar and generator together through cuts fits apartment blocks and private businesses. Fuel for the generator may be the hard part, so lean on the solar side.
  • Lathelamp: Solar-powered work machines rented per use suit neighbourhood workshops that lose hours to outages. Start with one tool everyone needs, like a grinder or freezer.
  • Candlepay: Instalment plans for solar battery kits, with a remote lock, help small shops spread the cost. You'd rebuild payments around Cuban bank and mobile transfers [Requires validation].
  • Humcheck: Clamp-on sensors that warn before a pump or generator fails make sense where replacements are slow to arrive. Sell to building managers and guesthouses.

Food and water

  • Saltfree: Solar units that make salty groundwater drinkable fit coastal towns. Keep the parts list short and local repairs simple.
  • Aquabed: Growing greens on fish-farm water gets two crops from one system. Test it with a single cooperative or mipyme first.
  • Kitchengas: Biogas from hotel and restaurant food waste gives kitchens fuel that doesn't depend on deliveries. A hotel partner makes the first site easier.
  • Seedkeeper: Tested local seed from community seed banks fits farmers who can't count on imported seed. Work with an agricultural institute on the testing.
  • Rhizoplot: Microbe blends matched to each farming zone could cut fertiliser needs. Expect to need state approval for biological inputs [Requires validation].
  • Frozenproof: Temperature records for frozen food in transit matter more when power cuts threaten cold chains. Start with one distributor and simple loggers.
  • Cargotrike: Pedal-assist cargo trikes rented by the shift suit Havana's narrow streets and fuel shortages. Charging can run off solar at the depot.

Guesthouses and the private sector

  • Ratecove: Nightly pricing and paperwork for small hosts fits private rental homes. Swap the Goa permits for Cuba's own rules for renting to visitors [Requires validation].
  • Hotelgreens: Rooftop growing for hotel and restaurant kitchens shortens a long supply chain. Build it from materials you can get locally.
  • Netmatched: Matching each online order to its payment and delivery suits the growing number of shops selling through messaging apps. Rebuild it around local payment channels.
  • Bossproof: Fake payment requests that claim to come from the owner can hit any mipyme with staff handling money. Keep it simple and phone-based.

Rules to check before you start

Mipymes are governed by Decree-Law 88 of 2024, which moved approval of new firms to municipal administrative councils, with the Ministry of Economy and Planning approving in the meantime, and put the sector under the National Institute of Non-State Economic Actors[7]. Partners must be Cubans who actually live in the country, or foreigners with permanent residence[7]. The rules were amended again in 2026 [Requires validation]. Currency and banking rules come from the Banco Central de Cuba[6]. Tax registration sits with ONAT [Requires validation].

This is a starting list, not legal advice. Check with a local lawyer or the agency itself.

Questions founders ask

Repair, upkeep and rental services built around power and food. Humcheck and Lathelamp above can start with a few tools and a small solar setup.

Do foreigners need a local partner to start a company in Cuba?

For a private mipyme, the 2024 rules say partners must be Cubans resident in the country or foreigners with permanent residence[7]. Foreign investment follows a separate route, so check with the Ministry of Economy and Planning and a local lawyer.

Can a Cuban mipyme import equipment?

Often it has to work through authorised channels and hard-currency rules, and US sanctions limit some suppliers [Requires validation]. Plan your product around parts you can actually get.

Talk to Yash

Building in Cuba means designing around power, parts and pesos from the first sketch, and I'm happy to work through that with you. If you need a hand, you know where to find me.

Talk to Yash →

Sources

  1. World Bank, "Population, total: Cuba", 2025. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/CUB/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?format=json&mrv=1
  2. World Bank, "GDP per capita (current US$): Cuba", 2020. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/CUB/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?format=json&mrv=1
  3. World Bank (ITU data), "Individuals using the Internet (% of population): Cuba", 2024. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/CUB/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS?format=json&mrv=1
  4. OnCuba News, "Mipymes privadas en Cuba crecen un 3,4 % entre enero y marzo", 2025-05-06. https://oncubanews.com/?p=589110
  5. Directorio Cubano, "UNE pronostica el mayor apagón de 2026: 71% del país afectado y récord de 2.236 MW de déficit", 2026-07-03. https://www.directoriocubano.info/?p=145395
  6. Banco Central de Cuba, home page and official exchange rate, 2026. https://www.bc.gob.cu/
  7. OnCuba News, "Nuevas reglas para el sector privado en Cuba: control, bancarización y residencia efectiva", 2024-08-19. https://oncubanews.com/cuba/economia/nuevas-reglas-para-el-sector-privado-en-cuba-control-bancarizacion-y-residencia-efectiva

For illustration only. Names are fictional and ideas hypothetical; sourced facts are real but may be out of date. Nothing here is legal, financial or professional advice, and Yash Khatri is not personally liable for any use of it. Read the full disclaimer.