Building Your Professional Network Abroad: A Guide for Expatriates in Cuba

Published on January 17, 2026 and written by Cyril Jarnias

Moving abroad is often a dream of change and adventure. But after the initial months of euphoria, many expats run into a harsher reality: isolation, the difficulty of creating genuine connections, and the complexity of a professional environment they don’t yet master. In Cuba, these challenges are magnified by a unique political, economic, and technological context.

This article offers a concrete guide, grounded in Cuban reality, for developing a strong professional network as an expat, while keeping in mind the country’s legal, cultural, and digital constraints.

Understand the Playing Field: What the Cuban Context Changes in Your Networking

Arriving in Cuba with the same networking habits as in Europe or North America is the best way to miss out on real opportunities. The country operates with its own logic, shaped by a singular history and an economy in transition.

The Cuban professional landscape still relies heavily on state-owned enterprises, but a private sector of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises has grown rapidly since 2021. These two worlds coexist, sometimes complement each other, sometimes ignore or distrust each other. For an expat, the challenge is to learn how to navigate between these spheres without getting burned.

An Environment Where Personal Relationships Are Strategic

In practice, doing business in Cuba often comes down to cultivating relationships much more than strictly “doing business.” The socialist tradition has left a strong imprint: cooperation, collective decision-making, and the importance of the collective. Formal, and especially informal, networks play a key role in making progress within a system marked by resource scarcity and omnipresent bureaucracy.

Public/Private Duality: Two Networks, Two Logics

To network effectively, you must understand this structuring duality of the labor market.

Market Segment	Main Characteristics	Networking Opportunities for Expats
State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs)	Strong hierarchy, centralized decisions, importance of ideological alignment	Institutional projects, conferences, academic partnerships, major contracts
Private Sector (MSMEs, cuentapropistas)	Agility, market orientation, creativity, strong regulatory constraints	Collaboration, subcontracting, entrepreneurial projects, consulting, training

State-owned enterprises prioritize stability and adherence to the political framework, while private sector actors seek specific skills, international connections, and operational solutions. An expat can build bridges between these two worlds, but only if they master the protocols required for one and the necessary flexibility for the other.

A Legal and Political Framework That Structures Your Relationships

The Cuban legal framework isn’t just background; it directly conditions how you can integrate professionally. The foreign investment law governs possible structures (joint ventures, wholly foreign-owned companies, international economic association agreements). Concurrently, the 2021 reform spurred the emergence of thousands of micro and small private enterprises, regulated by specific rules and a growing list of prohibited activities.

– you cannot multiply projects and collaborations without verifying their compatibility with local legislation;

– many doors open through mixed structures (events, university cooperations, sectoral fairs) that are themselves fully recognized and encouraged.

Added to this is a sensitive geopolitical context, marked by the U.S. embargo and increased surveillance of information channels. Caution on political topics is not just a courtesy; public criticism of the government is illegal, and certain activities, especially media or digital ones, are under close watch.

Adapting to Cuban Relational Culture

In Cuba, networking isn’t just about exchanging business cards in an air-conditioned hall. It’s a very embodied process, where conversations, coffee, meals, and informal exchanges often weigh more than CVs and pitch decks.

Communicating with the Body as Much as with Words

Cuban communication mixes a certain directness with a great attention to social harmony. Among peers, people get straight to the point, sometimes with a volume and expressiveness that can be surprising. With superiors or institutional contacts, the tone becomes more measured, disagreements are expressed indirectly to preserve the relationship.

For an expat, this means knowing how to read this double language: what is said and what is implied by posture, tone, and gaze. And accepting that many things are negotiated better face-to-face than over the phone or by email.

The Decisive Role of Language

Spanish is the official language, and although English is spoken in tourist or international academic circles, relying solely on it closes many doors. Conversely, making the effort to speak Spanish, even imperfectly, is often seen as a sign of respect and a willingness to integrate.

It helps to learn certain concepts specific to the Cuban system: planificación (central planning), autogestión (self-management), cuentapropista (self-employed worker), resolver (to get by, to find what’s lacking), inventar (to improvise solutions). Integrating them into your conversations shows you take the local reality seriously.

Knowing What to Talk About… and What to Avoid

Building connections always involves a phase of small talk. In Cuba, people talk easily about family, health, travel, culture, sports – baseball in particular is a safe bet. Pride in the healthcare system or educational achievements are also positive topics.

On the other hand, political discussions should be approached with great caution, or even avoided. Criticizing the government, joking about shortages, making deprecating comparisons with other countries can be seen as aggressive or put your interlocutor in an uncomfortable, potentially risky position. Keep in mind that the freedom of speech you have as a foreigner isn’t necessarily the same as that of Cubans.

Leveraging Places, Moments, and Circles Where Everything Happens

Building an effective network in Cuba requires multiplying touchpoints, formal and informal, by relying on existing structures: chambers of commerce, universities, conferences, professional associations, but also cafes, casas particulares, paladares, cultural clubs, and digital networks.

The Major Institutional Gateways

Several actors structure economic and professional life and can become pivots for your network.

Institution / Organization	Key Role for Your Network
Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of Cuba	Point of contact with Cuban companies, information on sectors, introduction to partners
MINCEX, MEP, MTSS (Ministries)	Regulatory framework, investment projects, understanding economic priorities
University of Havana, University of Cienfuegos, University of Matanzas, University of Holguín	Academic partnerships, research projects, conferences, access to young talent
Professional Associations (doctors, engineers, lawyers…)	Technical exchanges, training, joint projects, recommendations

In practice, making an appointment at the Chamber of Commerce, participating in an academic symposium, or joining a sectoral delegation are often very concrete ways to trigger key meetings, either directly or through a ripple effect. In Cuba, one relationship frequently leads to another: the person you meet at a seminar will later introduce you to a colleague in a state company, then to a private entrepreneur, and so on.

Conferences and Congresses: Hubs for Long-Term Connections

Cuba hosts an impressive number of congresses each year in various fields: education, biotechnology, law, agriculture, environment, psychology, linguistics, medical sciences. These events aren’t just scientific showcases; they are also hubs for meetings where academic collaborations, research partnerships, and even commercial projects are forged.

The internationalization of higher education sector is particularly active, with, for example, workshops like Cuba TIES that have gradually structured a dense network of collaborations between Cuban universities and foreign institutions. For an expat involved in education, training, research, or public policy consulting, these events are a goldmine of relational opportunities.

Sectoral Fairs and Business Platforms

Alongside academic congresses, the country sees the development of professional fairs coordinated by specialized organizations. They present portfolios of investment projects in sectors as diverse as the food industry, tourism and leisure, energy, construction, logistics, or mining, amounting to billions of dollars.

Participating in these trade shows, even without a massive immediate investment, allows you to at least:

Again, booths, coffee breaks, official or semi-official dinners are all moments where the initial conversations that, a few months later, will become a contract, a consulting assignment, or a job are formed.

The University World and Language Schools as Relational Springboards

Cuban universities – Havana, Cienfuegos, Matanzas, Holguín and many others – play a central role in international exchanges. They host foreign students, visiting professors, research delegations, and collaborate with prestigious universities around the world.

For an expat, several entry points exist:

– enrolling in a university or professional training program;

– giving a guest lecture, if you have sought-after expertise;

– co-organizing a research project, workshop, or summer school with local colleagues.

At a more everyday level, language schools in Havana and elsewhere offer a much more informal and accessible setting: by joining an intermediate or advanced class, you meet other expats serious about integrating, as well as teachers often well-connected in their city, who can steer you toward cultural, associative, or professional circles.

Dealing with Expensive, Slow… and Monitored Internet

In the age of LinkedIn, webinars, and Slack communities, many expats now build most of their network online. In Cuba, this strategy only works partially, for a simple reason: access to the internet remains limited, expensive, and under state control.

An Internet Unlike the One You Know

All telecommunications are managed by a public monopoly. Access has improved significantly over the past decade – deployment of 3G then 4G, opening of hundreds of public Wi-Fi hotspots, possibility for a few years to have a private connection under certain conditions – but the country remains among the least connected in the Western hemisphere.

Prices, though decreasing, remain high relative to local salaries, even though a general rise in incomes has partially corrected this gap in recent years.

Censorship and Surveillance: Concrete Impact on Your Interactions

Beyond technical constraints, the Cuban digital space is closely regulated. Access to certain independent media is blocked, some platforms require a VPN, the law penalizes the dissemination of content deemed contrary to social interest, and online activities can be monitored.

For an expat, this imposes a simple but imperative discipline:

– avoid discussing sensitive political topics via local channels;

– prioritize encrypted tools (certain messengers, VPN installed before arrival) for delicate exchanges with the outside;

– accept that not all your contacts will want to be publicly associated with certain projects, especially if they touch on sensitive themes (media, rights, politics, activism).

Digital Strategies Adapted to the Cuban Context

Even with these limits, it would be a shame to give up on any online dimension. It’s possible to intelligently combine global tools and local realities.

For example:

– use LinkedIn to stay in touch with professionals met at conferences or during trips, while understanding they won’t log in daily;

– prioritize WhatsApp for quick exchanges once a connection is established, as it’s one of the most used tools on the ground;

– prepare offline files and resources before your arrival (CV in Spanish, portfolio, lightweight PDF project presentation) that you can share locally via USB key or phone, inspired by the famous “paquete semanal” practice—the informal network for distributing digital content on hard drives.

For many expats, the trick is to consider the internet as a bonus that reinforces a network already initiated on the ground, rather than as the main channel for creating connections.

Navigating Hierarchy, Bureaucracy, and Negotiations Without Getting Frustrated

Another frequent culture shock for newcomers concerns the way decisions are made, agreements are negotiated, and time is managed in business or administration.

Clear Hierarchy, Meandering… Processes

Even if relationships between colleagues can be warm and informal, Cuban structures, especially in the public sector, remain very hierarchical. Important decisions are made at the top of the pyramid, after several levels of validation. It’s not uncommon for meetings to remain exploratory for weeks before concrete approval arrives.

Negotiating on the Long Term

Negotiations in Cuba combine a certain transparency in discussion and great slowness in conclusion. The first meeting is often more about “getting to know each other” than the letter of the contract. Insisting on moving too quickly to concrete terms can be perceived as a lack of respect or trust.

Cubans are known for being able to use time in negotiations: prolonging, testing your patience, verifying you are truly committed. They also expect partnerships, especially with foreign actors, to be long-term.

For you, this means:

Managing Time Cuban-Style Without Wasting Your Own

The famous “hora cubana” reflects a more flexible relationship with punctuality. Cubans are well aware that a foreigner may arrive right on time, and appreciate it, but they themselves may have a more flexible conception of the announced schedule. Waiting an hour for an important meeting is not exceptional.

To avoid losing your energy over this, it helps to:

– always arrive on time, as punctuality remains a sign of seriousness;

– use waiting time to observe the dynamics of the place or start conversations with people present;

– schedule your own appointments to avoid ending up in a chain of waiting all day;

– accept that some networking successes come from hours of patience invested in a reception hall or a ministry corridor.

Building a Support Circle to Avoid Burning Out

Behind the question of a professional network lies another often overlooked challenge: how not to be overwhelmed by loneliness, cultural difference, the slowness of things, and resource scarcity? Many expats, in all countries, describe a similar trajectory: initial enthusiasm, then loss of bearings, isolation, discouragement.

Recognizing That Loneliness Isn’t a Failure

Leaving your country means cutting yourself off from your usual support system: family, friends, long-time colleagues, daily routines. In Cuba, where the material and digital context makes it harder to “compensate” with video calls and social media, this lack can weigh particularly heavy.

Capitalizing on Expat Solidarity… and Local Solidarity

Expatriate communities often constitute a first lifeline. They are active in major cities like Havana, through informal groups, associations, meetup-type initiatives, often relayed on Facebook, WhatsApp, or other platforms.

But staying confined to these circles can trap you in a bubble. Cubans themselves can be extremely welcoming, and many forms of volunteer work, cultural clubs, social projects – for example in education, culture, health, the environment – open spaces where Cubans and foreigners mix around common causes.

Getting involved in these activities allows you both to give something back to the host country and to create connections beyond the strictly professional world.

Finding a Balance Between Engagement and Retreat

Succeeding in networking in Cuba doesn’t mean attending every event, coffee after coffee, drink after drink. By forcing it, some expats end up exhausted, even disgusted. The challenge is rather to choose a few key spaces:

– a structuring professional circle: association, chamber of commerce, sectoral group;

– a learning space: Spanish class, training, workshop;

– one or two projects or activities where you genuinely contribute: volunteering, co-organizing an event, regular participation in a club or working group.

This mesh, even modest, can be enough to break the feeling of isolation and open doors organically.

Some Concrete Levers for Weaving Your Network in Cuba

All these considerations are only valuable if translated into very concrete actions. Here’s how to turn principle into practice in the Cuban context.

Inserting Yourself into the Right “Ecosystems” from the Start

From your arrival, you can structure your week around a few strong anchor points:

– an intensive Spanish course, ideally in a Havana school well-integrated into its neighborhood, to progress and meet people;

– regular visits to certain socialization spots – cafes, paladares, cultural centers – where young professionals, artists, academics, entrepreneurs cross paths;

– identifying conferences, seminars, workshops related to your field, including at universities or research centers.

Concretely, you can for example decide to block out each week:

Time	Activity	Networking Goal
Monday morning	Spanish class	Progress in language, meet teachers and other INVESTED foreigners
Wednesday afternoon	University visit / seminar participation	Enter the academic and institutional ecosystem
Friday evening	Participation in a cultural or associative event	Create informal links with Cubans and other expats
Once a month	Fair, conference, sectoral study day	Map key players, establish targeted contacts

This structure doesn’t preclude spontaneity – essential in Cuba – but it ensures you don’t depend solely on chance.

Daring to Make Direct Approaches, but Contextualized Ones

The direct approach works well… if it’s respectful of local forms. Rather than sending cold emails that often go unanswered, it’s generally more fruitful to:

Small symbolic gifts, especially if they come from your home country (notebook, book, quality coffee, nice pen), are appreciated if they remain modest; it’s better to avoid any ostentation. In an environment where many goods are scarce, the value is more affective than monetary.

Paying Attention to Follow-Ups and Reciprocity

In a culture where trust is built over time, the first exchange matters less than what you do afterward. Sending a personalized thank-you message after a meeting, sharing an article or useful information with your contact, offering in turn a contact or a resource are simple gestures that, accumulated, establish you as a reliable partner.

Anticipating Material Constraints in Your Networking Plans

The scarcity of common resources – meeting space, stable connection, equipment – forces you to think of your relational initiatives as an artisan rather than an industrialist. Organizing a workshop, for example, requires:

– precisely checking internet access at the venue, even planning for fully offline operation;

– accounting for possible power outages;

– thinking of lightweight materials (PDFs, presentations on USB key, printed documents);

– having backup plans B, C, and D in case of the unexpected.

Being the one who arrives with solutions, rather than demands, immediately strengthens your credibility and attractiveness in a network that values the ability to “resolve.”

In Conclusion: In Cuba, a Network Is Earned, But It Will Repay You a Hundredfold

Developing a strong professional network as an expat in Cuba isn’t about applying copy-pasted networking recipes from elsewhere, nor is it about frequenting only foreign circles. It’s about accepting to dive into a unique environment: a socialist country in transformation, a dynamic but constrained private sector, scarce internet, omnipresent bureaucracy, and above all a culture where human warmth, resourcefulness, and the memory of relationships play a central role.

In Cuba more than elsewhere, opportunities are often hidden behind a shared cup of coffee, waiting in a corridor, a university seminar, an improvised music evening on the Malecón. It’s up to you to decide how many of these doors you will choose to open – and how much time you are willing to invest for them to lead, one day, to genuine professional and human alliances.