October closed with good news for Mandao: its formal creation as a medium-sized private company. In this way, we became one of the first micro, small and medium-sized companies to be approved in Cuba. Mandao is now a legal entity and this is possible as a result of the government decision last June to give the green light to the creation of these economic actors.
The entire formation process has been quite fluid, according to Marta Deus, Mandao’s co-founder. «We have received constant help from the Ministry of Economy and Planning, and when signing at the Notary, everything was very professional. We received a lot of support, even though when it came to the Bank, we had a problem when depositing the capital stock. Because being only the third SME that carried out this process at that bank, there was no clarity in some procedures.»
The importance of being a legal entity for Mandao
Six partners make up the management of the company and all agree that the advantages of this classification are very clear. «Now we will have legal status, we will be able to sign contracts, have state and foreign clients, import, open offices in other provinces. Anyone who knows how complex it is to do business in Cuba can understand how much progress we have made», said Marta Deus.
It has been two years of joint effort, constant growth, expansions in Cuba, and development of new lines of business, our delivery service. Recognized for its unmistakable yellow backpacks, Mandao now enters a stage in which it will have a lot of flexibility in its actions and more opportunities to participate in new scenarios.
Under the classification as Logistics Operator, which allows Mandao to extend its package delivery service they continue to develop, and with a tech focus, Mandao offers its delivery services in five Cuban provinces. From now on, its relationship with other similar entities may be strengthened since as a company and with legal status, it will be easier to arrange financing, inter-company relationships, and participation in the national economic network as a full-fledged entity.
New tax commitments as a company
In this regard, Marta Deus told us that under the condition of a medium-sized company «we went through a process of hiring all the personnel, some of whom were kept as TCP and others as independent contractors. The subject of tax commitments also changes. We have been doing some analysis of how that is going to impact us, since it is a heavy tax burden, adding to all the investments and the growth that we want to have.»
By presenting ourselves as a company, the public increases their trust in us, and our credibility grows. We can increase the volume of products we offer and have the opportunity to establish fully recognized branches in all provinces of the country. Faced with the enormous challenge that is presented to us, we are ready to continue growing and uniting friends, families, and communities.
What is a Mipyme?
Within the Cuban economic scenario, a Mipyme (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise in Spanish) constitutes an economic and legal entity of a new type towards which private businesses must evolve for their natural growth -much like a limited liability company (LLC) in the United States. Its nomenclature is defined depending on the number of workers that comprise it: Micro, from 1 to 10. Small: from 11 to 35. And Median, from 36 to 100.