E-commerce in Cuba

E-commerce

Internet access

Until 2015, the internet was virtually nonexistent in Cuba. That year, the telecommunication provider, ETECSA, begun opening up Wi-Fi Hotspots all over the country. Since then, the government has made increasing connectivity a priority, creating Wi-Fi hotspots, opening cybercafes and slowly connecting homes to the internet. Price is still a big problem, as hotspots currently charge US$1 an hour (for comparison the average monthly wage is US$ 30). As of 2018, there were public hotspots in approximately 500 public locations across Cuba, mainly in the biggest cities. However, home access remains largely inaccessible for the general population, with only 11 thousand homes being connected to the internet, according to ETECSA. The internet that is available though, is still very slow, and broadband is virtually nonexistent Cuba. Most mobile phone owners have smartphones, but mobile internet is still inaccessible in the country. However, the government plans on introducing it to the public by the end of 2018. According to ETECSA, the Cuban government plans to expand mobile internet to all 5 million mobile phone users in the country, nearly half of Cuba’s population, still in 2018.

E-commerce market

E-commerce is not yet a part of the Cuban economy. However, the country has been slowly opening up commercially, which presents a future opportunity to put in place Cuba’s e-commerce foundations. Still, for that to happen, government support is required, which seems not to be the case at the moment. Even though the internet is becoming increasingly available, the country has one of the lowest penetration rates in the world. Moreover, Cuba is still a cash based economy and international payment opitions, such as credit cards, are simply not available. Cards do exist, and a significant proportion of the population have them, but they are government-run national cards with no use outside Cuba, making them useless for e-Commerce purposes. Given that e-commerce is not developed in the country, there aren't any popular online stores in Cuba.