The United States government launched a call for scholarships for aspiring Cuban entrepreneurs through the State Department-sponsored Young Leaders of the Americas (YLAI) program.
The Washington Embassy in Havana posted the invitation on Twitter: “WE ARE LOOKING FOR Cuban Entrepreneurs!
Interested applicants can apply for the scholarship through http://ylai.state.gov/apply train young entrepreneurs and includes round-trip travel in the United States and several cities in that country such as Houston and Washington DC.
The 2023 call is open until February 15 and selected individuals will have access to networking and mentoring opportunities; Round-trip travel to and from the United States and all travel required for the program; and digital resources and tools to grow your business, underscores the proposal.
The statement does not clarify the age included in the program or the number of scholarships allotted to Cuba. In 2019, the organization Líderes Sociales awarded 15 scholarships to young Cubans between 20 and 35 years old, residents of the island and with previous experience in an independent project or in initiatives aimed at improving their community.
Notice. US Embassy Havana / Twitter
“YLAI promotes American business models and practices that boost commerce, foster job creation, and create enduring and sustainable networks of young entrepreneurs and business and community leaders in Latin America, the Caribbean, Canada and the United States,” says the Department of condition .
Since the program’s inception in 2015, more than 1,000 YLAI scholars from Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada have benefited from the course, which includes four-week internships in cities across the United States, where they gain professional development skills and experience in the business organization.
The YLAI scholarship program includes online and classroom courses developed by IREX and Arizona State University (ASU) that combine technical training in entrepreneurship and leadership development.
This year, the workshop will be welcomed to Houston, where they will participate in a four-day gathering.
The course will conclude with a forum in Washington, DC, where networking events will be held with business leaders, social entrepreneurs and US government officials.
Those unable to travel to the host country can follow the scholarship program virtually, the information said.
In the past, these courses were viewed by the Cuban regime as mechanisms of political manipulation. On December 15, Deputy Secretary of State Carlos Fernández de Cossío said the White House “intends to promote the private sector as a weapon to undermine the very nature of Cuban society.”
However, in an unexpected twist of pro-government rhetoric, he said so the Cuban government would accept US aid to the corporate sector Cuban, although its programs “are aimed at undermining the revolution.
“If exceptions to the blockade are introduced with dreams of undermining the revolution, we will not oppose them. We will not oppose it, if this allows greater prosperity in any sector of the Cuban economy, we will not put obstacles in the way,” stressed the Deputy Minister, taking stock of the state of relations between Havana and Washington.
“Yes [EE.UU.] manages to design exceptions that benefit some but continue to penalize others, we will not try to prevent that either,” the official stressed.