Ecosystem
The Atlas maps the infrastructure that needs to be replaced; this is the directory of the people and programs building toward it — on-island training and developer communities, diaspora founders and nonprofits, and the research shops charting the reform. Link-first and kept current; we prune dead links each update.
On-Island Programs
7Proyecto CubaEmprende
HavanaArchdiocese of Havana training program for private entrepreneurs (ProEmpleo model); a Cuba Study Group partner.
CubaEmprende Camagüey
CamagüeyRegional chapter extending the CubaEmprende training model to central Cuba.
AUGE
HavanaPrivate consulting and corporate-services firm advising 300+ Cuban private enterprises (founded 2014).
Merchise Startup Circle
Santa Clara / HavanaCuba's veteran developer and startup community, running meetups from Santa Clara to Havana.
CuCoders
Cuba (online)Open-source platform for Cuban programmers — a developer directory, jobs board, apps and events, community-maintained on GitHub.
Mandao
CubaHomegrown Cuban delivery app linking restaurants, markets and couriers across most provincial capitals — a flagship private-sector tech success.
InCuba
HavanaUniversity of Havana innovation incubator (coordinated by Adriana Heredia).
Diaspora & U.S.-Based
10Roots of Hope / Raíces de Esperanza
Miami, USAMiami nonprofit connecting young professionals to support Cuban peers; parent of StartUp Cuba.
StartUp Cuba
USAMedia platform plus fellowships and workshops on Cuban entrepreneurship (launched 2014).
Cuba Study Group
USANonpartisan organization backing market reform and diaspora engagement; co-sponsor of Cuba Transformación and a CubaEmprende partner.
Cuba Emprende Foundation
Miami, USAMiami-based foundation supporting Cuban entrepreneurs and the CubaEmprende network.
Cuba Start-Up
USAHow-to platform for starting and investing in Cuba (Yanoidis Mejias Mendoza).
Founder & CEO of QvaPay — the U.S. fintech (a Delaware C-corp) powering this Atlas; a leading builder of Cuba's diaspora payment rails.
AI pricing venture founded by a CubaEmprende alumnus.
Diaspora-built commerce/logistics venture serving Cuban households.
Cuba-directed startup on the diaspora founder watchlist.
Cuba-directed startup on the diaspora founder watchlist.
Founders shown as examples, not organizations.
Independent Media
8elTOQUE
CubaIndependent Cuban newsroom whose widely-cited informal exchange-rate tracker (tasa de cambio) has become a key economic indicator for the island.
Periodismo de Barrio
CubaIndependent Cuban newsroom focused on the environment, disaster and community — award-winning investigative reporting.
Postdata.club
CubaCuban data-journalism collective visualizing the numbers behind daily life on the island.
La Joven Cuba
CubaLong-running independent site of political and economic analysis of Cuba from a critical-left perspective (founded 2010).
Havana Times
Cuba / internationalEnglish-language independent coverage of Cuban daily life, economy and civil society.
OnCuba News
USA / CubaHavana/Miami outlet covering the Cuban economy, culture and U.S.–Cuba relations.
El Estornudo
CubaAward-winning Cuban narrative-journalism magazine (Gabo 2018) — long-form stories of the island and its diaspora.
Rialta
Cuba / MexicoIndependent magazine on Cuban art, film, culture and critical thought.
Research & Policy
4Observatory on Cuban Economics (OCE)
USAIndependent Cuban-economy research group; co-sponsor of the Cuba Transformación series.
Cuba Capacity Building Project / Horizonte Cubano
Columbia Law, USAColumbia Law School program on Cuban legal and economic reform.
DRCLAS (Harvard)
Harvard, USAHarvard's David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies — MSME/MIPYME research on Cuba.
FIU Cuban Research Institute
Miami, USAFlorida International University institute studying Cuban and Cuban-American organizations.
Common questions
What is Cuba's private-sector startup ecosystem?+
A growing network of on-island accelerators, diaspora founders, remittance and fintech rails, and nonprofits building Cuba's independent private economy (the MIPYMEs). The atlas keeps a running, link-first directory.
How can I support Cuban entrepreneurs?+
Through remittance/support that may fit scoped CACR rules (notably §515.570(g)(3)) to genuinely independent entrepreneurs via a sanctions-aware rail like QvaPay — with counsel — or by backing Cuban-built communities and vetted nonprofits. Support, not equity; this site does not authorize transfers.