Economic Development
El-ROI Business Incubator
Cultivating Opportunity. Strengthening Communities.
The El-ROI Business Incubator is Frutos de Gracia's economic development initiative in Cuba, equipping local entrepreneurs to build sustainable businesses, strengthen their families, and create lasting impact within their communities.
Rooted in a holistic approach, the incubator combines practical business education, mentorship, startup support, and community partnership. Adapted from Jorge Silva's Entrepreneur with Purpose (Emprendedor con Propósito) model, the program equips leaders with the knowledge, character, and resources needed to navigate Cuba's unique economic landscape.
Working alongside local churches, farmers, and community leaders, Frutos de Gracia is cultivating opportunities that promote economic resilience and help break cycles of poverty through sustainable, locally led solutions.
Program Overview
The El-ROI Business Incubator develops local entrepreneurship as a pathway toward long-term economic resilience. Through structured training, hands-on support, and practical resources, participants are equipped to launch and grow businesses despite challenging economic conditions.
The program integrates:
Business training and mentorship
Startup support and micro-financing
Agricultural development and food production
Community-based economic initiatives
Together, these components create an environment where entrepreneurs can move from survival to stability—and from stability to sustainable growth.
Three Core Strategies
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Business in a Box helps aspiring entrepreneurs launch income-generating businesses with minimal barriers to entry. Participants receive practical coaching to:
Develop a product or service
Learn production methods
Establish pricing and profitability
Build practical sales and marketing strategies
To help businesses launch quickly, the program provides initial funding for raw materials through a zero-interest, 90-day repayment model that encourages both accessibility and responsible stewardship.
Business in a Box provides an immediate pathway to entrepreneurship while building confidence, experience, and long-term opportunity.
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In partnership with Equipping Farmers International (EFI)
Healthy communities depend on healthy food systems. Through its partnership with Equipping Farmers International, El-ROI equips farmers with practical training that improves productivity, sustainability, and long-term profitability.
Participants receive instruction in:
Land stewardship and soil health
Effective planting techniques
Crop quality and yield improvement
Farm business management and financial planning
By combining agricultural best practices with sound business principles, farmers are equipped to strengthen both food production and household income, creating greater resilience for their families and communities.
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Based on Jorge Silva's Entrepreneur with Purpose (Emprendedor con Propósito), this fifteen-week training program equips participants to build businesses rooted in purpose, integrity, and long-term sustainability.
Through practical instruction and mentorship, entrepreneurs learn to:
Identify business opportunities
Develop strategic business plans
Understand customers and markets
Build sustainable enterprises
Beyond business skills, participants are challenged to lead with character, steward resources wisely, and create businesses that become a blessing to their families, churches, and communities.
Training & Capacity Building
Contextualized business education, practical workshops, and ongoing mentorship tailored to Cuba's economic realities.
Small Business Development
Community Development
Creating jobs, strengthening local services, encouraging business collaboration, and deepening partnerships between churches, professionals, and community leaders.
Support for launching and strengthening small businesses through strategic planning, startup assistance, and community-based micro-financing.
Financial Stewardship
Training that helps entrepreneurs increase income, manage resources wisely, and build diversified, sustainable livelihoods.
Sustainable Growth
Developing locally led systems, training future leaders, and expanding partnerships that ensure long-term impact for generations to come.
Core Components
Across every core strategy of the incubator, participants receive ongoing support designed to cultivate lasting success.
Long-Term Vision
Frutos de Gracia envisions a growing network of entrepreneurs across Cuba who are building thriving businesses, strengthening their families, serving their communities, and cultivating lasting economic resilience.
By investing in people rather than programs alone, the El-ROI Business Incubator is helping establish a foundation for sustainable transformation—one that empowers local leaders, strengthens the Church, and bears fruit that remains.