The Entrepreneurship in Cuba: Analysis of their Development

Abstract

The Seventh Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba approved the Guidelines of Economic and Social Policy of the Party and the Revolution. The Guidelines, which bet on a mixed economic model with the presence of state-owned enterprises with non-agricultural cooperatives and self-employment, the latter, would be a so-called venture, seen as self-employment and small private property, but as a natural and not legal personality. The opening of these forms of property is done with the intention of unloading part of the state employment in them, at the time of shedding unproductive activities, which should lead to the increased productivity in the state sector. However, to fulfill this tas, the self-employment should achieve growth and function efficiently, so as to absorb employment, which is sustainable. This paper contributes to the analysis of the conditions for such activities that can have a healthy and profitable performance, from the perspective of its actors. The survey Global Entrepreneurship Monito (GEM) was applied do 60 owners business in Havana province that has the fundamental percent of this type of workers. The results of these surveys demonstrated their consideration about the influence of the environment for the development of entrepreneurship, motivation, success factors of business, and so on.While the results are not statistically generalizable, they show the direct criteria and perceptions that guide actors to make proposals for improvement and future research. The final thoughts turn to that while self-employment has absorbed employment, they are not given the conditions for the healthy maintenance of these enterprises, and at the same time, has not been its impact on increasing productivity in the state sector.