TL;DR Haiti has close to 12 million people, low incomes and a diaspora that sends home about US$4 billion a year. The ideas that fit work with little grid power and patchy internet, turn remittances into productive spending, and help farmers, families and clinics do more with what they have.

The market in numbers

  • Population: about 11.9 million in 2025[1].
  • GDP per capita: about US$2,690 in 2025[2].
  • Internet use: about 48% of people were online in 2024[3].
  • Remittances: personal remittances received were about 16.9% of GDP in 2024[4]. The central bank governor put 2024 unrequited transfers at US$4.1 billion, up 9.5%[5].
  • Currency: the Haitian gourde (HTG), issued by the Banque de la République d'Haïti[6].

What founders here actually have to work with

What stands out - money arrives from abroad every month[5], and most of it goes on daily needs. If your product lets a relative in Miami, Montreal or Paris pay directly for a solar kit, a water filter or school costs then you're selling to someone with income and a reason to buy.

Inside the country, roughly half the population isn't online[3], so voice, SMS and agents beat apps. Grid power is unreliable in much of the country [Requires validation], which is why solar-led ideas fill most of the list below.

Security and road conditions make moving goods and people harder in some areas [Requires validation]. Keep operations local, keep stock light, and work through community groups and churches that people already trust.

Ideas that fit Haiti

All of these were researched for India. Rupee costs, Indian licences and UPI payments don't apply here, so treat each as a brief to rework.

Diaspora money and banking

  • Heddlepay: Collecting overseas payments for artisan groups and splitting them among members suits Haiti's metal, textile and craft makers. Swap UPI for local mobile money and bank transfers [Requires validation].
  • Idpapers: Caseworkers who help people get the documents a bank will accept fit a country where many lack formal papers [Requires validation]. Work with the banks on what they'll accept.
  • Askmybank: A voice helpline in Haitian Creole that explains people's own accounts suits low-literacy, low-data users. Partner with one bank or microfinance lender first.

Power, off the grid

  • Lathelamp: Solar work machines rented per use, like grain mills or sewing machines, fit towns without steady power. Let the diaspora prepay hours for family businesses.
  • Pumpwheel: Solar pumps on trailers booked by the hour suit smallholders who can't afford their own. Start in one irrigated valley.
  • Furrowlight: A loan repaid at harvest for a share of a solar pump plus seed and inputs fits farmers with uneven cash flow. You'll need a lender partner who understands crop cycles.
  • Anchorwatt: Solar at phone towers, with spare daytime power sold to neighbours, fits a market where towers already run off generators [Requires validation]. Talk to the mobile operators first.
  • Stormcrate: Solar battery trailers on standby for clinics after hurricanes and earthquakes. NGOs and donors are the realistic first buyers.

Water, health and families

  • Saltfree: Solar units that make brackish groundwater drinkable suit coastal communities. Design for local repair with few parts.
  • Pulpstrip: Paper water-test cards read by a phone camera help communities check wells after storms. Agree with health authorities on what a bad result triggers.
  • Rashdesk: Pharmacies sending standard skin photos to a dermatologist suits towns without specialists. Confirm telemedicine rules with the health ministry before launch [Requires validation].
  • Reissuely: Camps that help families replace lost IDs and certificates after disasters. Rebuild the process around Haiti's own civil registry [Requires validation].
  • Playsatchel: Take-home play kits and parent sessions for preschools need no screens and little power. Schools run by churches and NGOs are a good starting channel.

Farming

  • Cleanscion: Virus checks on banana and citrus nursery plants protect farmers from planting disease. You'd need a local lab partner.
  • Cropdoctor: Crop diagnosis that sells no inputs, delivered by voice or chat app, fits smallholders who get advice mainly from input sellers. Run it in Creole.

Rules to check before you start

Company registration runs through the Ministère du Commerce et de l'Industrie, which lists registration services for partnerships and sociétés anonymes[7]. The Centre de Facilitation des Investissements helps local and foreign investors with permits[8]. Tax registration sits with the Direction Générale des Impôts[9], and the Banque de la République d'Haïti is the central bank[6]. Health, finance and energy ideas each have their own approvals [Requires validation].

This is a starting list, not legal advice. Check with a local lawyer or the agency itself.

Questions founders ask

Service businesses that run on a phone and a small solar kit. Askmybank or Cropdoctor above can start with a few trained people, and the diaspora can help fund the first customers.

Do foreigners need a local partner to start a company in Haiti?

I couldn't confirm a local partner rule from an official source. Check with the Ministère du Commerce et de l'Industrie or the Centre de Facilitation des Investissements before you commit.

How do I reach customers with low internet use?

Use voice, SMS, radio and agents in markets and churches. Build the app later, once you know what people will pay for.

Talk to Yash

In Haiti the best ideas I see turn diaspora money into something that earns, rather than something that's spent once. If you want to test yours against that, I'm glad to help. If you need a hand, you know where to find me.

Talk to Yash →

Sources

  1. World Bank, "Population, total: Haiti", 2025. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/HTI/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?format=json&mrv=1
  2. World Bank, "GDP per capita (current US$): Haiti", 2025. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/HTI/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?format=json&mrv=1
  3. World Bank (ITU data), "Individuals using the Internet (% of population): Haiti", 2024. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/HTI/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS?format=json&mrv=1
  4. World Bank, "Personal remittances, received (% of GDP): Haiti", 2024. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/HTI/indicator/BX.TRF.PWKR.DT.GD.ZS?format=json&mrv=1
  5. Le Nouvelliste, "$4.1 Billion in Unrequited Transfers Recorded in 2024", 2025-01-07. https://lenouvelliste.com/en/article/252362/41-billion-in-unrequited-transfers-recorded-in-2024
  6. Banque de la République d'Haïti, home page, 2026. https://www.brh.ht/
  7. Ministère du Commerce et de l'Industrie, home page and services, 2026. https://www.mci.gouv.ht/
  8. Centre de Facilitation des Investissements, home page, 2026. https://www.cfi.ht/
  9. Direction Générale des Impôts, home page, 2026. https://dgi.gouv.ht/

For illustration only. Names are fictional and ideas hypothetical; sourced facts are real but may be out of date. Nothing here is legal, financial or professional advice, and Yash Khatri is not personally liable for any use of it. Read the full disclaimer.