From dried fruit to bike repair, Cuban entrepreneurs prepare for a more open economy

HAVANA: Cuban entrepreneurs, running businesses ranging from selling dried fruit to repairing bikes and developing software, are scrambling to understand the opportunities and challenges ahead after a landmark change in the rules governing the Communist-run economy.

Earlier this month, the government released regulations about a reform that would allow small- and medium-sized ventures to formally incorporate as businesses and access state financing, ending decades of classifying them as 'self-employed'. The measure is seen by many analysts as one of the most important reforms undertaken since all businesses - down to shoe-shine boys - were nationalized in 1968 by former leader Fidel Castro.