The private business Lombao Estudio, founded in 2013 by computer engineer Mario Javier Lombao Martínez, will adopt one of the modalities recently legalized in Cuba through a regulatory package published in the Official Gazette and linked to the creation of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
Currently under the denomination of Self-Employment (TCP), the members of this business are studying the legislature and analyzing the advantages of the new proposals: growth as a company, access to sources of financing, facilities in contractual relations and confidence for potential clients or markets.
“For us, it represents an opening to different benefits that do not exist today, and to the same security and rights that professionals have in the state sector. The incorporation as a trading company will imply a great change in terms of responsibilities and functions,” explained Alina Leal Pérez, a sales representative.
TCP Elekktrica, a project focused on supplying electricity to three fundamental sectors – education, health and agriculture – is undergoing a similar pre-assessment process and, according to its Executive Director, Guido Fernández Rosales, will adopt the small company variant, with a maximum number of 30 contracted workers.
“It is a new field and the implementation is always difficult. The forecast for the transfer is 2022, after reviewing the legal elements, the procedure to follow and the benefits for our business, dedicated to services such as low voltage, photovoltaic systems, electric transport and automation,” he noted.
For Lombao Estudio, the authorized categories represent, for example, the possibility of marketing – after an updating process – a microcomputer created by the team some years ago, by means of reusable components and with ample possibilities of reducing import costs and contributing to the computerization of the Caribbean nation.
Called LombAD, the device is the first developed by a private enterprise on the island and, although the Raspberry Pi motherboard is imported, it incorporates other handmade components designed by the team, as well as their own operating system, with the possibility of adapting to different business models.
Sandunga, the first digital music platform in Cuba, is the latest project of this business in charge of designing websites, mobile applications, business management and e-commerce services, hence its partnerships with state institutions such as the Soy Cubano Export Agency.
“We started collaborating with state companies dedicated to computer applications, software producers and audiovisual media managers such as Desoft, Softel and Cinesoft, for the development of projects and the provision of services to third parties,” Leal Pérez added.
In addition, Lombao Estudio has agreements for the promotion of platforms and applications with the University of Havana, the Ministry of Justice, the Islazul Hotel Group, the Water and Sanitation Group and the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Unit (Prosalud), as well as with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Elekktrica is also committed to collaboration with state institutions, another of the areas strengthened by the recent provisions. In its case, it signed a contract with the Havana Science and Technology Park, a modern, innovative and sustainable alternative that involves universities, companies, municipalities and territorial governments.
The agreement, according to Fernández Rosales, will improve the technical services of clients based on new technical procedures, and also incorporates Stixcp into the private business, an installation services developer for electronic security systems for homes and companies, and electrical installations and communications services.
The agreement also promotes the search for potential domestic and foreign consumers, and the establishment of projects related to solar panels, electro-energy and low voltage.
