AHK Cuba

The project aimed to facilitate the cooperation between Cuban and German stakeholders in the environmental service branch as well as water and wastewater management on a sustainable and long-term basis and has based its conception on this. The focus was on academic actors, government institutions and companies. With the help of an online medium, a differentiated but at the same time compact and clear presentation of the most important actors, developments and challenges was made possible. Also this was intended to lay the foundation for triangular cooperation between German and cubic universities and German companies.

The start-up competition in the incubator "InCuba" (University of Havana) was to focus on "Sustainable solutions for environmental problems" with a focus on the areas of recycling management, environmentally friendly mobility and water and wastewater management. Young entrepreneurs were to use German-Cuban knowledge and know-how to create concrete solutions to current environmental problems in Cuba in exchange with institutions from Germany and Cuba. A mentoring programme of German SMEs and institutions was also an integral component.

The German-Cuban environmental technology and sustainability forum also focused on networking and exchange between the various players. The two-day forum was devoted to building up expertise and knowledge on the one hand and to network building on the other. Through the lectures, keynotes and presentations by institutions and companies, the perspectives on sustainable development and concrete approaches to solutions with regard to recycling and (waste)water management from Germany and Cuba were exchanged. The interchange in workshop groups and bilateral talks between the actors enabled networking and the identification of cooperation opportunities. The Cuban reform process gives foreign investment an important place in the reform programme and the new constitution. A new environmental law was passed in July 2021 and a new recycling law in October 2022. The German Business Delegation in Cuba would like to use this momentum to promote the application of German environmental technology in Cuba.