WHAT WE DO

CEF supports the Catholic Church of Cuba's Proyecto Cuba Emprende.

About Us

Cuba Emprende Foundation

The CEF is a US-based 501(c)3 charitable organization that supports the Catholic Church of Cuba's Proyecto Cuba Emprende by raising money from private donations and providing advisory support. The organization is licensed by OFAC and funded solely by the private and philanthropic sectors, and does not accept funds from any government, including the US.

Who We Support

Proyecto Cuba Emprende

PCE is a project of the Catholic Church of Cuba. It's mission is to offer training and advisory services to Cuban entrepreneurs who wish to start or improve a small business in order to contribute to the development of an entrepreneurial culture, social progress and to improve the quality of their lives.

PCE replicates the extremely successful model developed over decades by Mexican non-for-profit organization Fundación ProEmpleo. PCE operates out of the Centro Cultural Padre Felix Varela in Havana and the Archdiocese of Camagüey. Both projects provide current and aspiring entrepreneurs with eighty hours of classroom instruction in the areas of human development, marketing & management, finance & accounting, and sales & customer service, while they work on completing their business plans. Graduates are offered continued advisory services through the project's Incubator and the Center for Business Development.

The project does not offer any funding or investment to students or graduates.

PRESS

"Inspired by the very essence of the Christian maxim, 'love thy neighbor,' and its wish to dream of and help shape a better Cuba, the Catholic Church has launched projects in the Archdiocese of Havana to train the emerging private sector"

— Yarelis Rico Hernández, Palabra Nueva

"a bipartisan mix of exiles long dedicated to engagement and others who only recently embraced the idea — are interested only in acting as an incubator for small businesses, in line with the government’s stated economic policy"

-Damien Cave, NYT

"Cuban entrepreneurs are learning the ins and outs of running a private business thanks to the two-year-old Cuba Emprende program in two Catholic dioceses"

Testimonials

"With the vision I know have everything is different. It has been very comforting for the average Cuban to gain access to knowledge that wasn't available anywhere else. Thank you for your support"

- Ania Gonzalez-Mora
Graduate of PCE Camagüey

"A spectacular faculty gave their all to make us feel really comfortable and helped us learn, and discover ourselves and gave us the tools to move forward."

-Mercedes Ibírico Ruyol

"Without this workshop, Cuba can't change. This is different, it has nothing to do with what we have witnessed in recent years...in the last 50 years. Its another story and I think everyone, all Cubans should take this course."

-Pedro Rodriguez Diaz
Graduate of PCE Havana