App Development, Cuban Style

A controversial nation, Cuba has often been in the backdrop of the business world. In Havana, a tight-knit circle of app and website developers is slowly developing among the midst of an out-dated, nearly non-existent entrepreneurial environment. Yondainer Gutiérrez builds apps and websites on a provisional computer at his parents’ home in Havana; he utilizes pirated software in order to access programs and does not have Internet capabilities. Nevertheless, uplifting changes in Cuba’s economic and political dogma set the foundation for hope and change amongst the island’s most promising businesspeople. Recent political changes and an increasingly positive relationship between Cuba and the U.S. allow for Cuba’s tiny pool of outsourcing to be exposed to the American market. Undoubtedly, Cuba’s close proximity to the U.S. – a mere 90 miles across the sea from Florida — opens a world of potential. To date, Mr. Gutiérrez has developed an app that assists drivers with finding parking spaces as well as a website called Alamesa, the Cuban equivalent of Yelp. It’s encouraging to see young developers around the world continue to strive and work towards their passions regardless of political and/or cultural obstacles.