TL;DR Yemen is a big country by population, over 41 million people, with low incomes, a split economy and a lot of daily life shaped by aid programmes, solar power and cash. The ideas that work here are cheap to run, fix a basic need like power, water or crop income, and get paid in small amounts or by aid programmes.

The market in numbers

  • Population: about 41.8 million in 2025[1].
  • GDP per capita: about US$634 in 2018, the latest year the World Bank publishes[2]. The Bank says real GDP per capita has fallen 58% since 2015[6].
  • Internet use: about 17% of people in 2019, the latest figure[3].
  • Mobile subscriptions: about 51 per 100 people in 2023[4].
  • Remittances: personal remittances received were about 12% of GDP in 2016, the latest figure[5].
  • Need: the World Bank counts around 17 million people facing food insecurity and 18 million without safe water and sanitation[6].
  • Currency: the Yemeni rial (YER).

What founders here actually have to work with

Start with the obvious - most of your customers have very little cash, and the numbers above are old because collecting data has been hard. So build for small, frequent payments and expect to check demand on the ground yourself.

The upside is scale. Forty-odd million people need water, light and food every day, and the World Bank describes economic institutions split between two zones, with currency depreciation on one side and cash shortages on the other[6]. That shapes everything from pricing to where you bank, so pick your region first.

Aid money is a real buyer here. The Bank's grant arm has put in more than US$3.9 billion since 2016, and its projects have funded cash transfers, wage work and solar power for homes and facilities[6]. A business that can deliver for an aid programme on time has a customer. Remittances from Yemenis working abroad are another source of household spending [Requires validation for current levels].

Ideas that fit Yemen

Each of these was researched for India. Treat the rupee figures and Indian licences as placeholders and rebuild the numbers for Yemen.

Solar power that pays its way

  • Anchorwatt: Phone towers need steady power, and the spare daytime solar can go to shops next door. Talk to the operators in your region first, since the tower owners are your anchor buyer.
  • Candlepay: Remote-lock meters let a dealer sell a battery in instalments. Swap UPI for whatever mobile money or agent network works where you are [Requires validation].
  • Lathelamp: Solar-powered grinders, sewing machines and freezers rented per use suit small traders who can't buy the kit outright.
  • Pumpwheel: Solar pumps on trailers booked by the hour fit farms that can't afford their own. Watch the groundwater, because cheap pumping can drain a well fast.
  • Furrowlight: A loan repaid at harvest for a pump share and inputs. You'd need a lending partner and a currency plan, and this one is harder than it looks.
  • Dusklog: Aid-funded solar streetlights and clinic panels break and stay broken. Uptime checks sold to the funder are a simple service to start.

Water

  • Saltfree: Solar units that clean salty groundwater fit coastal and lowland towns. Design for parts you can actually get locally.
  • Pulpstrip: Paper water-test cards read by a phone camera give tanker buyers and aid groups a cheap check. Agree with health partners what a bad result should trigger.
  • Limeknit: Leaking concrete tanks waste water nobody can spare. A crack-sealing service for village and rooftop tanks is low-tech and sellable.
  • Leakfinder: City water networks lose water to leaks. Paid per verified leak, this could work with a local water utility or an aid-funded rehab project.

Farming and exports

  • Hiveproof: Yemeni honey sells abroad on reputation, so hive-to-jar records and purity tests could protect that price [Requires validation].
  • Spathewing: Drone pollination for date palms makes sense only where groves are large enough. Check which regions grow dates at scale first [Requires validation].
  • Seedlinghub: Village hubs that raise heat-hardened vegetable seedlings help small farmers get more from scarce water.
  • Aquabed: Plant beds on small fish tanks grow food with little water. Pilot it with one group before you sell kits.

Records and health

  • Reissuely: People who have moved because of the conflict often lose ID and property papers. You'd rebuild this around whichever civil registry offices operate in your area [Requires validation].
  • Sheafcare: Turning a family's paper health reports into one dated file helps when people move between clinics. Keep it offline-first, given how few people are online[3].

Rules to check before you start

Banking and money transfer rules come from the Central Bank of Yemen[7], though the World Bank notes that institutions are split between two zones[6], so confirm which authority covers the area you work in. Company registration and trade licences sit with the Ministry of Industry and Trade [Requires validation]. Tax registration goes through the Tax Authority [Requires validation]. Importing solar kit or medical items brings its own customs and approval steps [Requires validation].

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

Questions founders ask

Repair and upkeep services cost the least to start. Fixing solar systems, sealing water tanks or checking aid-funded equipment needs skills and tools more than capital, and Dusklog and Limeknit above are built that way.

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

I couldn't confirm the current rule from an official source. Check with the Ministry of Industry and Trade in the area you plan to register.

Who pays for startups in Yemen when households have so little cash?

Often an aid programme, a phone operator or a trader rather than the end user. Design one version for an institution to buy in bulk and a cheaper pay-as-you-go version for families.

Talk to Yash

Building in Yemen means picking a region, a payment route and a buyer before you pick a product, and I'm glad to work through that with you. If you need a hand, you know where to find me.

Talk to Yash →

Sources

  1. World Bank, "Population, total: Yemen", 2025. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/YEM/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?format=json&mrv=1
  2. World Bank, "GDP per capita (current US$): Yemen", 2018. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/YEM/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?format=json&mrv=1
  3. World Bank (ITU data), "Individuals using the Internet (% of population): Yemen", 2019. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/YEM/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS?format=json&mrv=1
  4. World Bank (ITU data), "Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people): Yemen", 2023. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/YEM/indicator/IT.CEL.SETS.P2?format=json&mrv=1
  5. World Bank, "Personal remittances, received (% of GDP): Yemen", 2016. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/YEM/indicator/BX.TRF.PWKR.DT.GD.ZS?format=json&mrv=1
  6. World Bank, "Yemen overview", 2026. https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/yemen/overview
  7. Central Bank of Yemen, home page, 2026. https://www.cby-ye.com/

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.