Gunther Neubert is the director of the Delegation of German Industry & Commerce in Cuba, part of the worldwide network of the German Chambers of Commerce (AHKs), delegations and representative offices at 130 locations in 90 countries.
With a so-called planned economy and an extremely small private sector, opportunities for ordinary companies to do business with Cuba are limited. Gunther Neubert provides a summary of where openings might be found:
“There are around 60 to 70 German companies currently represented in Cuba — all with offices here. These are the multinational companies, such as BASF, Siemens or MAN Diesel & Turbo.”
“There are some really interesting economic sectors that German companies are examining at the moment: for example, Cuba is changing its energy model completely because of a lack of oil imports — or reduced imports — from Venezuela. Cuba is, therefore, trying to build up renewable energy systems, such as photovoltaic or bio energy. This brings with it interesting opportunities, for example with bio energy because of Cuba’s sugar production. German companies are really strong in businesses such as photovoltaic plants, plus wind energy and bio energy.”
“The chamber regularly has business delegations from Germany visiting Cuba. For example, we bring German companies with the right expertise in renewable energy to Cuba to discuss business possibilities with governmental representatives.”
“A further opportunity is for firms in the food industry, because Cuba imports around 80 per cent of its food and beverages. Another opportunity is in the construction industry, because at present, there is a lot of demand. The medical and pharmaceutical sectors are areas in which Cuba is very strong, and Cuban companies are also looking for partnerships and joint ventures with foreign companies. This is a market where we could see more business in the future.”