Overview:
Motorcyclists with food delivery bags over their backs have become a common sight in Cap-Haïtien as online orders increase in the city. TapTap Now, a food delivery application operating there since late 2022, has been one of the most instrumental forces behind the surge in food delivery services.
CAP-HAÏTIEN — In the past year or so, coming home from work has been exhilarating for Milca Saint-Louis. Some afternoons, before she even reaches her front door in Cap-Haïtien, a TapTap Now delivery driver is already waiting outside with one of her favorite dishes from Lakay Bar Restaurant: kibi, an appetizer made with wheat and ground beef.
Instead of driving 15 minutes across the city and waiting nearly an hour for her order, Saint-Louis places it from her phone while still at work. Though food delivery has long been common elsewhere in the world, the service is only recently becoming part of daily life in Haiti’s second-largest city.
“I’m a homebody. Having food delivered is easier,” said Saint-Louis, manager of Thompson Electronics in Cap-Haïtien.
“You don’t have to think about what clothes to wear or go out. I think this has a future in Haiti,” the 29-year-old added. “It’s worth it, even if you pay more for it.”
TapTap Now, a delivery app launched in the United States in 2020 by Haitian American entrepreneur Tanis Tamar to serve Haitian restaurants abroad, expanded to Cap-Haïtien in late 2022. Since then, the company says monthly orders in the city have jumped from about 16 in 2023 to roughly 140 in 2026.
The growth reflects broader changes in consumer habits and e-commerce in Haiti, even as the country struggles with chronic electricity shortages, weak internet service and insecurity.
In Cap-Haïtien, motorcyclists carrying insulated food bags have become an increasingly common sight. TapTap Now now partners with 11 restaurants across the city.
Other delivery platforms, including D-Eat and Caribbean eShop, have also emerged, suggesting growing demand for online ordering in Haiti.
“There’s demand for food delivery now,” Tamar said. “TapTap Now helped show that people need this kind of service. I think it will continue growing.”
The expansion of online shopping in Cap-Haïtien mirrors a wider rise in digital commerce, with young entrepreneurs increasingly selling clothing, accessories and household goods through WhatsApp, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.
Yet food delivery still faces cultural resistance in Haiti, particularly in the north, where many residents have historically been reluctant to let strangers handle their meals.
Migration and changing habits fuel growth
Part of TapTap Now’s growth may stem from the migration patterns reshaping Haiti since gangs tightened their grip on Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas.
As insecurity worsened in the capital, many international aid and non-governmental organization (NGO) workers relocated to Cap-Haïtien. Members of the Haitian diaspora have also increasingly traveled or temporarily settled in the northern city.
Clevenide Salomon, TapTap Now’s manager in Cap-Haïtien, said most customers are foreign aid workers and diaspora visitors. Orders typically surge in July, when Haitians abroad return for summer vacations.
Local users tend to come from wealthier households, including professionals who relocated from Port-au-Prince.
For many middle- and lower-income residents, however, app-based food delivery remains too expensive.
A round-trip motorcycle taxi ride downtown costs roughly 200 gourdes, or about $1.50, while TapTap Now charges about 500 gourdes, or $3.80, for delivery alone.
Some residents also avoid delivery apps because of unreliable internet access and frequent power outages.
TapTap Now’s delivery fee goes directly to drivers, who are paid biweekly or monthly. The company earns roughly 10% commission from participating restaurants, including Cap Deli.
“We’re working, but sometimes we can’t overcome the country’s problems. The conditions needed for this business are not fully in place, but I still think in three years we will go further.”
Clevenide Salomon, TapTap Now manager in Cap-Haïtien
According to company documents, Cap Deli generated about 69,000 gourdes, or roughly $520, in orders during the second week of April, earning TapTap Now about 6,900 gourdes, or $52.
Some restaurants, including Lakay, do not follow the 10% commission model. Instead, they allow TapTap Now to increase menu prices by 10% within the app—charging the consumer directly. For instance, someone who orders from Lakay Bar Restaurant through the TapTap Now app pays 10% more for their dish.
Low profits raise questions about sustainability
Despite growing demand, food delivery remains a difficult business in Haiti.
TapTap Now earns about 20,000 gourdes, or approximately $150, monthly from its orders in Cap-Haïtien, according to the company. To diversify revenue, the platform has begun delivering flowers and continues seeking new restaurant partners.
Still, Tamar acknowledges the sector’s future remains uncertain.
“I’d like to see how many of us survive long term,” he said.
For restaurant owners like Adrian Turan, owner of Cap Deli, delivery services expand access to customers.
Turan recalled one order delivered to Milot, about 11 miles south of Cap-Haïtien — a trip that can take more than an hour in heavy traffic.
“This system is a benefit to Haiti,” said Turan, a Filipino entrepreneur. “If there’s a TapTap Now order, we prioritize it.”
Delivery workers also see advantages in the platform.
Many, including Sergo Chéry, supplement their income by driving motorcycle taxis. Unlike daily cash earnings from taxi rides, TapTap Now offers more predictable payments.
“It helps me save money,” Chéry said. “If I earned it ride by ride, I probably would spend it immediately.”
Chéry, 25, earns about 10,000 gourdes, or $75, per month from around 40 deliveries, plus occasional tips.
Still, technical issues frequently disrupt operations. Drivers sometimes lose internet access or cannot charge their phones because of electricity shortages.
Despite the obstacles, Salomon remains optimistic about the future of food delivery in Haiti.
“We’re working, but sometimes we can’t overcome the country’s problems,” Salomon said. “The conditions needed for this business are not fully in place, but I still think in three years we will go further.”
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