Cuban Entrepreneurship in 2020: A Conversation with Marta Deus, Lauren Fajardo, and Liber Puente
Cuban Entrepreneurship in 2020: A Conversation with Marta Deus, Lauren Fajardo, and Liber Puente
AS/COA hosted a conversation with Cuban entrepreneurs who shared their innovative approaches to running a business on the island.
Speakers:
- Marta Deus, Co-Founder of Mandao
- Lauren Fajardo, Co-Founder of Dador
- Liber Puente, Founder & CEO of TostoneT
- Lee Ann Evans, Director, Individual Membership and Head of Cuba Working Group, AS/COA (co-moderator)
- Brett Perlmutter, Head of Google Cuba (co-moderator)
AS/COA's Young Professionals of the Americas and the Cuba Working Group hosted a conversation with three Cuban entrepreneurs to discuss their experiences running private businesses in Cuba. This is the first known virtual panel of its kind with participants joining live via video from Havana on Google Meet, which was launched in Cuba in June 2020.
Entrepreneurship is always challenging, but 2020 has brought new obstacles for these pioneers, from COVID-19 to a nearly total pause in tourism to the island. These cuentapropistas—as self-employed persons care called in Cuba—shared their strategies for innovation and adaptation in fashion, tech, and mobile delivery.
