Last week, during the II International Fair of Renewable energy held in Havana, a young mipyme A Cuban woman shared in the Pabexpo exhibition hall with state entities and foreign companies linked to the use of clean energy. What seemed impossible a couple of years ago could now be a reality thanks to the government’s economic reforms and the gradual expansion of the private sector on the Island. Furthermore, their presence at the event was not the result of chance, but rather the result a still short but promising path.
Renova SURL (Single Limited Liability Company) is a small company founded and located in the city of Camagueyone of the pioneers among the new economic actors in its territory and among those dedicated to the world of renewable energies and associated activities in the country. Officially emerged just on November 4 of last year, it was not born from the reconversion of an existing business —as is the case with a good part of Cuban MSMEs—, but rather it is a new venture, driven by the motivation and commitment of Roberto Medina, founding partner and general director of Renova, and the team that has accompanied him since then, who opted for a new course in Cuba.
“We decided to insert ourselves in the renewable energy sector because it seems to us to be a pioneering field, the future of energies in the world and also in the country”, he explained to OnCuba Ernesto González, commercial director of Renova, with whom we spoke during the fair.
“Fossil fuel is a limited, finite element, but the sun is not, and neither is the air. So, we saw in this sector a great opportunity, in addition to being a different way of doing business, which implies improving the way of life of people, of society, which has a high demand for electricity and the difficulties that exist in that sense today. And, in addition, it is a very ecological business model, very respectful of the environment, and that is something that is directly related to our philosophy as a company”, said the young man.
For the Camagüeyan MSME team, the jump to clean energy sources is not a goal for the future, but rather a key element for the present of the Island. Not in vain, its slogan states that “the future is today”. For this reason, they offer a wide range of products and services related to renewable energies, which includes the assembly of solar panels and heaters, wind turbines, batteries, water pumping kits, among other equipment, as well as maintenance actions. For this reason, they also make donations and collaborations in this rope with state institutions. And for this reason, they use renewable sources in their own facilities, with which, moreover, they lead by example and save costs derived from electricity consumption.
All of the above opened the door to the II International Renewable Energy Fair, which, according to González, was “a great opportunity to make ourselves known outside our province and offer a sample of our products and services to other Cuban entities.” and foreigners of the sector, and, in particular, in Havana, where we are establishing a branch”. For the commercial adviser of the mipyme, the event also represented the opportunity to “have access to other experiences and up-to-date knowledge on this subject, which is something fundamental”, as well as to “exchange with experts and authorities about our work —his stand was even visited by the Cuban president during a tour of the fair—, and find out what other companies are doing, what lines of work they carry out, how they target customers, and, in general, what is happening in the world of energy renewable”.
The company
Since its creation, and even with the difficulties and shortcomings in the country and the legal and operational margins available to Cuban MSMEs to carry out their work, Renova has experienced sustained growth, both in its internal structure and in its professional projects. “Currently the company is made up of 29 workers,” he specified to OnCuba Danelis Peña, head of the Human Resources of the mipyme, who confirmed that they have almost all the areas covered —“we only have one vacancy left”— and that most of the team is made up of young people, with just three people above of the 40 years.
“69% of us are university graduates, most of them from careers related to this area: automatic, electrical, civil engineers, for the structural part; also computer scientists, for the programming part, and other specialties, graduates from different Cuban universities, and the rest are of medium technical level. In general, we have a project management team, which is in charge of managing all the technical, specialized, and organizational tasks, and a team dedicated to installation and maintenance tasks”, explained the young woman, who graduated from Law and also has commercial responsibilities. in the mipyme.
“Although we have been created since November, it was in February that we began to bill, and since then we have been growing in the number of contracts, orders, billings, which is very important, because that has allowed us to get to know more clients and project ourselves towards the future”, commented, for his part, Ernesto. “We have also increased our portfolio of foreign suppliers and we maintain links with state import companies, because, as is known, MSMEs until now do not have the authorization to import directly, but we do it through these state entities. That is the way we have been using to build our product portfolio and satisfy the requests of our customers, to whom we provide not only specialized, but also personalized attention.”
In its line of products and services related to renewable energies, the small private company acquires the same equipment components that its specialists and technicians then assemble, as well as equipment and parts that “already come completely ready to assemble,” according to the commercial director of Renova, who also added that MSMEs have a second line of work, linked to other types of technological equipment, including computers, laptops, printers, network equipment, wiring, LED lights, cameras and surveillance systems, as well as related components and services, which “is also an important line for us and complements the first”.
In both aspects, Renova has already achieved some thirty contracts, with entities mainly from the state sector, although they have also already formalized agreements with other actors from the private sector and are exploring options aimed at the population in general.
“We have 37 clients with whom we have already formed contracts as such, both for installation services or other types of purchase and sale,” Danelys Peña explained. Our clients are mainly from the state sector, but we also already have several contracts with MSMEs, and we are heading towards the private sector, with self-employed workers. In addition, we are thinking of natural persons, for whom we plan to launch an offer of kits shortly. We are studying this sector, seeing how much a house consumes, making estimates and averages, in order to design what a house would have based on different levels of consumption: high, medium and low, to then try to create kits in correspondence with those levels. and with prices that are affordable to the population.”
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Projects, collaborations and perspectives
Among the contracts and projects carried out by Renova, which already has your own website, there are those linked to state entities such as the Camagüey Food Products Wholesale Company, the Provincial Book and Literature Center, and the Community Services Company, the latter for the installation of a photovoltaic panel system in a waste dump from the tourist pole of Cayo Cruz, in the municipality of Esmeralda. In addition, it has established collaboration agreements with the Comprehensive Telecommunications Solutions Company (SOLINTEL) and with the Ministries of Public Health and Education, to which it has even made donations of media and parts for hospital and school institutions in Camagüey, with a view to contributing to the improvement of its services.
These entities were recently joined by the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment (CITMA), with which they also signed a collaborative agreement at the beginning of June, for the celebration of World Environment Day, because, as Danelis Peña reiterated, its work has “a strong ecological and environmental projection” and, along with technological development, the small business promotes “sustainable practices that promote the well-being of society, such as those related to renewable energies”. Regarding donations and aid, the young woman specified that, within its statutes, Renova has established a percentage of its profits to be used for these purposes “as a sign of its social commitment.”
Similarly, he advanced the intention of linking up with educational centers in his province “to carry out scientific training and vocational guidance, thinking that from the Renova base it can also be a training center for future professionals, and that when these young people graduate from the pre-university students choose a career along these lines and we can attract them to this sector, which is starting now in Cuba”.
As for their business prospects, the private MSME aspires to reinforce its leadership in its territory, both in the field of renewable energies and in its other lines of work, and expand beyond Camagüey’s borders, something in which they are already working. with the establishment of a branch in Havana. In the capital they already have clients and are starting projects, a direction that they hope to consolidate as of last week’s fair.
“We want to be one of the main companies in this sector in the country, become a reference company and contribute with our work to the development of society and the preservation of the environment”, confirmed Ernesto González, who reaffirmed Renova’s interest in establishing new agreements and alliances with other Cuban entities and companies, both state and private, and also reach agreements with international counterparts.
“We are open to foreign companies, organizations and investors who are interested in our business and want to collaborate, and also to strengthen our ties with Cuban institutions and companies. Anything that is helpful for the growth of our company, that allows us to offer a better service to our clients and is for the benefit of the country, is always welcome at Renova”, he concluded.
