He oil blockade imposed by the United States and the fuel shortage on the island have placed 96% of Cuban micro, small and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) on the brink of collapse, according to a study published this Friday by Augea private consulting firm led by Oniel Diaz.
With blackouts that reach up to 20 hours a day and fuel prices on the black market that exceed 6 dollars per liter (more than 3 thousand pesos), the private business community faces its biggest existential crisis since the economic opening in 2010.
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The universe of private MSMEs
According to the 2024 Cuban Statistical Yearbook of the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI), cited by the analysis of Boomin December of that year there were 9,236 private MSMEs registered in the country.
Behind each number there is an entrepreneur, a family and a life project that decided to build something of their own in the midst of an adverse economic environment.
Far from being a marginal sector, MSMEs represent the most dynamic productive fabric that has emerged in the last decade. Havana concentrates 43% of these companies, which means that almost 4 thousand businesses depend directly on the energy stability of the capital.
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The statistics of the collapse and most vulnerable sectors
In the Auge study it appears that not all MSMEs depend on energy in the same way. Some require fuel for every minute of their operation, while others can withstand short periods of shortage. However, the data is conclusive: 8,904 companies (96.4%) face a severe or catastrophic impact from the energy crisis.
Of them, 7,491 (81.1%) belong to sectors where fuel is an essential part of the production process. Without energy, they simply do not exist. Another 1,413 (15.3%) could survive for a limited time, but are at risk of closure if the crisis drags on. Only 332 (3.6%) would have the capacity to resist without seeing their existence compromised.
The energy crisis translates into paralyzed workshops, closed restaurants, transporters without routes and halted technological projects.
In Havana, where almost half of the MSMEs are concentrated, the impact is especially visible: businesses that had managed to consolidate in recent years now face the fragility of depending on a collapsed energy system.
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Anticipations
In December 2025, the private consulting firm AUGE conducted a survey of 175 managers of MSMEs in Cuba for its first Business Climate Study. The results, seen today, seem prophetic.
The energy crisis was already listed as a central concern: 48% of companies had invested in solar panels, power plants or batteries to mitigate the impact.
What was then conceived as a preventive measure has become an essential condition for survival. The remaining 52%, without investment capacity, now face immediate paralysis.
The study also reflected a marked distrust in the national environment. Although many companies reported internal improvements in 2025 thanks to their own efforts, most projected a pessimistic national outlook for 2026.
That vision has been confirmed by the current energy crisis: no matter how much individual effort is made; If the system collapses, the business collapses with it.
This analysis by the consulting firm Auge is the first in a series that will address the specific effects that the energy crisis causes in each sector; the direct fuel import measure and why it remains inaccessible to the majority, as well as practical recommendations for entrepreneurs trying to keep their businesses afloat.
Boom, services and functions
The AUGE consulting firm is a private Cuban firm founded by Oniel Díaz Castellanos and other entrepreneurs who were committed to the development of the independent business sector on the island.
Since its creation in 2014, it has specialized in offering strategic advisory services, market studies and support to micro, small and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs), with the aim of strengthening their management and adaptation capacity in a complex economic environment.
Its functions include the preparation of business diagnoses, the training of managers, the design of growth plans and the publication of research on the business climate in Cuba.
With a focus on transparency and rigorous data analysis, AUGE has become a reference for understanding the evolution of the Cuban private sector and its challenges in the face of the regulatory framework and crises such as the energy crisis.
