Cuba Opens Their First Computer Factory

Cuba has inaugurated its first computer factory just before Christmas and is part of the country’s transition initiative after years of economic blockade by the United States.The new factory has capabilities to produce 120,000 units a year comprising of 6th generation Intel laptops using Celeron, Core i3 and Core i5 CPUs. Chinese company Haier has provided the equipment, technology and staff training to the state-run computer factory which will also be producing 8-inch and 10-inch tablets locally.

Haier is a Chinese state-owned enterprise which has been seeking rapid international expansion over the past decade, establishing factories in South and East Asia and have moved to acquire New Zealand’s Fisher & Paykel in 2012 as well as General Electric’s Appliance Division in early 2016.  Aside from hardware assembly, Cuba is also looking to build their own operating systems and custom applications to go along with these devices.

The trade embargo cost Cuba an estimated 753.7 billion USD since 1962 when US President John F. Kennedy ordered it following the Cuban Missile Crisis. In 2014, President Barrack Obama began to ease diplomatic relationship tensions with Cuba following a prisoner exchange and with Fidel Castro’s death in 2016, the trade embargo lift is all but inevitable allowing for Cuba to pursue opportunities in technological and economic advancements.