Internet access in Cuba is a huge issue, with only 16 percent of the population able to get online. Only 40 percent of those have access to social media, with the Cuban government—not unlike China—very careful about what internet sources it allows its people to access. And yet, with over 37 percent of Cubans looking to start their own business within the year, access to internet resources like social media for marketing purposes is vital. With the Cuban economy struggling, access to social media could be the key to getting commerce flowing again.
There are many reasons why limited social media access—and internet access in general—can be seen as detrimental. But the effect on the Cuban economy might be the biggest one.
According to technology investment experts like Thom Weisel, a veteran of the dotcom bust who has reinvented himself in the new era of tech, social media companies have huge potential. Comparing them to the tech companies of the 1990s, Weisel says “the big difference is these companies, in many cases, are enormously profitable out of the gate.
“For the most part, these are real companies with real revenue and are generating real cash flow,” he adds.
But Cubans aren’t seeing much, if any, of that cash flow—or the advantages of using social media to attract and interact with customers. In Cuba, only 16 percent of the population can get online at all, and those who can are stymied by slow connectivity and government-limited access.
The Cuban government has created its on versions of Wikipedia and Facebook called Ecured and Social Red, respectively, but these sites mimic their counterparts rather than provide the same sort of information. They provide none of the opportunities to promote or grow small businesses either domestically or internationally.
Entrepreneurial Cubans have found a few workarounds with sites like Trip Advisor and AirBnB, which are less restricted. But even these sites are hard to access, often requiring their users to purchase VPNs and travel long distances in order to log on.
Being able to access Facebook or Twitter may not seem like a big deal. But according to a Ripl study from May 2017, social media has become key to developing small businesses. Of the more than 250 businesses surveyed, 55 percent use Facebook, 43 percent use Instagram, and 19 percent use Twitter to connect with their customers. And social media is the number one marketing tool in the United States.
In some ways, the internet situation in Cuba has gotten better. More than 40 government-approved wi-fi hotspots are available in Havana and other major cities. The price for public internet access has gone down—it rests at about $2.25 an hour today. However, this price is still prohibitive for most Cubans.
And while the biggest barrier to access is primarily financial, government control remains a deterrent. There are only two Internet Service Providers in Cuba, and both are state-owned. While Cuba doesn’t have cutting edge surveillance tools, they do have software that collected the private information of anyone who uses the internet publicly.
To combat these blocks, many Cubans have come to rely on “Paquete Semanal,” a weekly offline selection of materials compiled by anonymous internet users and delivered to subscribers using portable hard drives.
But this does little to help the Cuban economy, which could hugely benefit from real-time access to social media and other advertising options for up-and-coming businesses. Without these resources, would-be Cuban entrepreneurs are working with their hands tied behind their backs, no matter what clever solutions they’re able to come up with in the meantime.
Photo: Some Cubans travel a long way to use public wi-fi hotspots set up by the Cuban government. Credit: DayOwl / Shutterstock.com