Angel investors hope to find the best and brightest in Cuba’s emerging tech scene

Angel investors hope to find the best and brightest in Cuba's emerging
tech scene
Sarah Buhr (@sarahbuhr)

President Obama's bold new course on Cuban policy is paving the way for
emerging tech to blossom in the country. A new entrepreneurial
competition, 10x10KCuba, hopes to uncover Cuba's best and brightest tech
minds with an offer of mentorship and potential financing.

The idea is to prevent brain drain and help boost Cuba's economy, says
10x10KCuba's Ricardo Herrero.

Herrero is also the executive director of #CubaNow, a political
organization advocating for growth and economic expansion in Cuba and
forging relationships for the country in the United States.

The new initiative teams #CubaNow with the Cuba Emprende Foundation, 500
Startups and TechStars and will provide to 10 fledgling startups web
services, laptops and guaranteed internships with accelerator programs
in the U.S. and Latin America.

10x10KCuba is a bridge for struggling Cuban founders, but also helps
angel investors and accelerator programs scout out hidden talent in a
country that has been largely isolated from modern technology and has
had to take a different approach to technological problems.

The country is struggling to communicate with the rest of the world and
with each other. Broadband Internet doesn't exist there and cell phones
are rare (about 11 percent of the country has a mobile phone). The
competition is a chance to help develop the tech ecosystem and bring
Cuba into the 21st century.

While funding isn't guaranteed — under current Cuban and U.S. law
funding in Cuba is not yet legal — it will give Cubans who may not
otherwise have those opportunities the means to pitch and get needed
mentorship.

In addition to the competition, AngelSummit Americas partners and
additional supporters will give entrepreneurs the following:
- Experience with leading accelerators Techstars, 500 Startups and Boomtown
- Servers, cloud credits and Android devices from Rackspace
- Dell laptop computers via EMC
- Online English and/or Chinese-Mandarin lessons by iTutorGroup
- Mentoring from NXTP Labs
- Cash for travel, out-of-pocket expenses and customs duties on imported
equipment

Those interested in more information on the contest can visit
www.10x10KCuba.com.

Source: Angel investors hope to find the best and brightest in Cuba's
emerging tech scene | TechCrunch -
http://techcrunch.com/2016/04/14/angel-investors-hope-to-find-the-best-and-brightest-in-cubas-emerging-tech-scene/