Haiti's Commerce Ministry Launches Regional Caravan to Formalize 5,000 Businesses
The pilot program, running October to November 2026, targets informal businesses across all ten departments.
Haiti's Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Friday, October 16, 2026, launched the "Regional Caravan for the Formalization and Revitalization of Commerce and Entrepreneurship" at the Hotel Montana in Pétion-Ville, under the high patronage of the Office of the Prime Minister, according to icihaiti.com and Le Nouvelliste. Minister of Commerce and Industry James Monazard said the pilot initiative, scheduled to run from October to November 2026, aims to support the formalization and training of at least 5,000 businesses across the country's ten geographical departments. Monazard said the program was initiated in response to a noted decline in business formalization in the marketplace, and reflects the Ministry's commitment to bringing services closer to economic operators, particularly those in the informal sector and provincial regions. MCI Director General Panel Paulémont said the Ministry's departmental offices will receive IT equipment to improve operations and streamline application processing. Danovald Charles, Director of Legal Affairs, presented statistics on businesses registered by region via the MCI's digital platform, launched at the end of 2024. The caravan will facilitate the registration of trade names and the issuance of Professional Identification Cards (CIP). The initiative is supported by the Ministry of Planning.