Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker delivered remarks at a summit that focused on entrepreneurship during President Obama’s historic visit to Cuba. The event provided an opportunity for American entrepreneurs to learn more about the state of entrepreneurship in Cuba. 

During her remarks, Secretary Pritzker discussed the important role that entrepreneurs play in energizing the economy, as well as the Obama Administration’s commitment to supporting entrepreneurship in Cuba.

Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Rodrigo Malmierca introduced Secretary Pritzker. Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration Maria Contrearas-Sweet, President’s Export Council Chair Ursula Burns, Chairman and CEO of Xerox, and Vice Chair Arne Sorenson, President and CEO of Marriott International were also a part of the U.S. delegation.

Remarks As Prepared For Delivery         

Thank you, Minister Malmierca, for the kind introduction, for your commitment to unlocking new opportunities for commerce, and for your friendship. Last night, the Minister and I had dinner together at a wonderful paladar. The food was excellent, and it was the perfect setting to continue our discussion about how to move the U.S.-Cuba economic relationship forward. Given today’s theme, I particularly appreciated the opportunity to visit the restaurant of a Cuban entrepreneur.

I join you today not only as the U.S. Secretary of Commerce but as an entrepreneur myself. I spent 27 years in the private sector and started 5 businesses. And I am particularly proud to serve a President who has made supporting entrepreneurs around the world a top priority. President Obama understands that economic opportunity and a thriving private sector are the foundation for a rising middle class, for security and stability, and for broad-based prosperity. He believes that entrepreneurs can help address many of the most pressing challenges confronting our nations, including creating jobs and opportunity for young people both in the United States and Cuba.

At the Department of Commerce, we connect the next generation of entrepreneurs with the networks, mentors and investors they need to make their businesses successful, both in the United States and around the world. Put simply: we are the “United States’ Innovation Agency.” One of the ways we do this is through a public-private partnership called the President’s Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship, or PAGE, which I am honored to chair.

This initiative brings together 17 of America’s top entrepreneurs, who use their stories and knowledge to mentor and inspire young people and start-ups, not only across our own country but around the world.  Each of our PAGE members also has a signature initiative. For example, Brian Chesky, the founder of Airbnb, is focused on expanding Cuba’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by increasing Internet literacy; promoting practical education; and introducing online payment systems. I am thrilled to see Brian here today, along with two of our other ambassadors: Daymond John and Julie Hanna.

The Obama Administration also created the annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit, where we connect the world’s best and brightest entrepreneurs with the tools they need to create and innovate. These summits open up new opportunities for partnership and collaboration; they provide investors with direct access to some of the top entrepreneurs from around the world; and they highlight the role that entrepreneurs play in addressing some of the most difficult global challenges. Previously hosted outside the United States, this year’s 7^th annual summit will be held in one of the hotbeds of global innovation, Silicon Valley, where we expect to have representation from 160 countries, including entrepreneurs from Cuba.                                                                             

Through the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, as well as my travels around the world and around the United States as Secretary, I have had the opportunity to meet with entrepreneurs everywhere.  Every country is distinct, but I have found that all innovators and entrepreneurs need the same basic foundation in order to succeed: access to capital, high-speed internet, and a skilled workforce; the rule of law; intellectual property protection; and a culture and legal system with a high tolerance for risk-taking. As entrepreneurs, you know that these are the necessary ingredients for success.

In the United States, we embrace the role government can play in building this foundation and providing these core elements that support entrepreneurs. Our government does not create new companies. But our government does help create conditions that give entrepreneurs the space to take risks, to collaborate, to find financial support, to find customers, and, ultimately, to thrive. Let me be clear: entrepreneurs do not and should not depend on government or policy makers for their success. But we have found in the United States that the government does have a role to play in enabling our innovators to become engines of economic growth and job creation.

Here in Cuba, President Castro has announced his intent to expand the private sector in order to create more economic opportunity for the Cuban people, and we are seeing progress. Today, approximately one in every five Cubans is officially employed in the Cuban private sector. And in recent years, your government has started expanding the number of jobs and licensing additional categories of jobs. Continuing that progress, where cuentapropistas can be self-employed, will be good for the Cuban people and good for the Cuban economic. In fact, President Obama’s historic shift in policy toward Cuba is rooted in a fundamental desire to further develop this growing private sector and help more Cubans plug into the global economy. 

Put simply: our shift in policy is about helping of you build your own futures. Looking at the many young Cubans that are here today, it is clear the entrepreneurial spirit runs deep in this country. A successful innovator must be creative. An innovator must be both brave and resourceful. And above all, an innovator must defy the odds, take risks, and persevere. These are all qualities the Cuban people possess. 

In the United States, we share the same spirit. And I firmly believe that this fundamental desire to innovate can serve as a common thread between our nations. By using events like today’s to connect our entrepreneurs, we can write a new chapter in the story of U.S.-Cuba relations and deepen the mutually beneficial economic ties between our people. Thank you.