Accustomed to extensive processes, overwhelming paperwork and endless red tape, bureaucracy was set to be one of the main fears for the first wave of self-employed workers (TCP) who decided to evolve into micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). However, according to Bernardo Romero González, founder and CEO of Ingenius, the process works.
A little more than a month after the entry into force of the legal regulations on the improvement of the country’s different economic actors, the Ministry of Economy and Planning (MEP) has approved the creation of 234 MSMEs. One of the first of these was Ingenius Single-member Limited Liability Company, or simply Ingenius, after its trade name.
“Overall, the MEP has worked well. For example, there is the pro forma of partner agreements and a reference model. Both were very helpful, because this is all very new to us. They have simplified the process, it is not overly bureaucratic. All the deadlines have been met,” he explains.
Nine years after its founding, Ingenius has evolved from an electronics workshop to a company dedicated to technology. Today it specializes in two fundamental sectors: one focused on software development and its commercialization; and another line for hardware, which includes repair, creation, design and retail wholesale of electronic or electrical equipment for domestic use.
In a process that is still getting off the ground, the change from TCP to MSME brings challenges, Bernardo confesses. However, a certain optimism is evident in the atmosphere. “One interesting thing is that wherever we have gone, we have been received with a ‘finally!’ There is a positive feeling among those who have attended to us. They transmit enthusiasm,” he notes.
Regarding his expectations, he tells us that the first big step is to become an official company. He assures us that they had operated like one before in terms of operation and organization, in addition to the quality of the service, but not formally.
“Now this allows us to have a totally different projection. Our main clients are from the foreign market. Being able to present ourselves to them as a company offers us another scenario; it is another perspective. We have to take the leap… That’s our feeling.”
This recognition also clarifies the possibility of the subcontracting of state entities by the private sector, an elusive and complex scenario so far. In this sense, Ingenius is turning its attention to the domestic market.
“We have contracts with more than 50 state-owned enterpises to maintain their equipment, and the time came when we had nothing more to repair for them. Now we have another scheme. The possibility of importing parts, pieces and equipment for their commercialization opens up the range of services; this should have a positive impact,” he adds.
“In terms of the logistics, things like infrastructure also change. We did magic for years. We offered professional services with the connectivity of a house. That was magic! That’s another major breakthrough, to be able to improve connectivity, servers,” he concludes.
However, this change in perception also includes challenges, mainly in terms of structure and organization. Bernardo Romero explains that being a MSME entails a different level of rigor as regard” accounting and hiring.
“Now we have to keep the employment records of our workers. Also the case of social security: if a person takes sick or maternity leave, we have to pay them, and go to Social Security to get paid. We must provide quarterly financial statements to ONAT. There is an administrative burden that comes with these transformations.”
Added to this is the national context. Migration leads to lower availability of workers. “Getting our professionals to want to stay in Cuba is also a key element for MSMEs and for the country. If I as a company, and Cuba as a nation, do not manage to offer our professionals stability, it is of little use. That is another challenge.”
Along the narrow path of the Cuban economy, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises represent an important catalyst in the process to perfect the country’s economy actors. Although MSMEs are still taking their first steps, we are faced with a significant road map. According to Bernardo Romero, “We still don’t have a complete sense of the scale of this impact!”
