Mandao opens up to new opportunities as a medium-sized company

October closed with good news for Mandao, the well-known yellow backpack courier service: its formal incorporation as a medium-sized private enterprise. The move came less than a month after it was approved as one of the first micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Cuba, following the government decision in June to give the green light to the creation of these economic actors.

For the six partners that make up the company’s management, the advantages of this classification are very clear: “Now we will have legal status, we will be able to sign contracts, have state and foreign clients, import, open offices in other provinces… Although from the outside it may seem like a small step, anyone who knows a little about doing business in Cuba can appreciate how far we have come,” notes Marta Deus, co-founder of Mandao.

After two years of joint effort, constant growth, expansion in Cuba and the development of new business lines, Mandao now enters a stage in which it will enjoy much more flexibility in its actions and better possibilities of insertion in new scenarios.

As Marta tells us, the formal incorporation of the company was a fairly smooth process: “We received constant help from the Ministry of Economy and Planning, and at the time of signing at the Notary’s office everything was very professional and we received a lot of support. However, in the case of the Bank we had a problem when it came to depositing the capital stock, because as the third MSME to undertake this procedure in that bank, there was a lack of clarity regarding some processes.”

Under the label of Logistics Operator, which allows it to provide greater coverage to its parcel delivery line, and with a defined technological profile, Mandao maintains its delivery services in five Cuban provinces. But now its relationship with other similar entities can be strengthened since, as a company and with legal capacity, it will be easier to obtain financing, boost inter-company relations and insert the business into the national economic framework as a full-fledged figure.

“Now we are moving on to a process of hiring all the personnel, some of whom were employed as TCP (self-employed workers) and others as third-party services; and studying the issue of tax commitments, which also changes. We have been analyzing how this is going to change, since it is a heavy tax burden, added to all the investments and growth we want to have,” Marta explains.   

Appearing as a company generates much more public confidence and the trust of customers and users grows. The business will also be able to increase the volume of products its offers, and now has the opportunity to place fully recognized branches in all provinces of the country. Faced with the challenges ahead, the team states it is ready to continue growing and uniting friends, families and communities.    

A little more than a month after the beginning of the approval process for the first group of MSMEs, the total number of these new forms of management amounts to 315 companies, of which 307 are private and 8 are state-owned. Spread throughout the national territory, according to the Ministry of Economy and Planning their impact on the socioeconomic development of the country covers various sectors such as food production; manufacturing activities such as the manufacture of construction materials, furniture, textile clothing, footwear, plastic and cleaning and sanitation products; computer programming activities; recovery of materials and recycling; and technical services.