The verdict in three sentences
In Kaolack, the heart of Senegal's groundnut basin, the offices of traders, cooperatives and SMEs still spend hours copying, pasting and chasing people by hand. With Make, Zapier, Google Sheets and WhatsApp Business connected to AI, without writing a line of code, part of that work runs on its own, at a cost of 0 to 10,000 FCFA a month to start. Kolonell Academy's "Automate your work with AI, without writing code" course (20 h, 100,000 FCFA, about 152 EUR or 165 USD) has you build 8 real automations.
Which tasks to automate in a Kaolack office
During the groundnut marketing season, an office receives dozens of weighing slips, payment reminders and price requests every day. The first module teaches you to score your tasks on time saved, risk and monthly cost before touching any tool. Here is what comes up most often, as 2026 orders of magnitude.
| Repetitive task | Manual time per week | No-code tool | Monthly cost | Estimated time saved |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entering weighing slips into a sheet | 3 to 4 h | Google Form and Google Sheets | 0 FCFA | 2 to 3 h |
| Payment reminders to suppliers and clients | 2 h | Make and Gmail | 0 to 10,000 FCFA | 1.5 h |
| Weekly report to the manager | 2 to 3 h | Google Sheets and AI | 0 FCFA | 2 h |
| Answering price requests on WhatsApp | 3 h | WhatsApp Business and an AI assistant | 0 FCFA | 1.5 to 2 h |
| Cooperative meeting minutes | 1.5 h | Custom AI assistant | 0 to 13,000 FCFA AI subscription | 1 h |
| Quotes or purchase orders | 2 h | Form linked to a Google Docs template | 0 FCFA | 1.5 h |
Overall, 5 to 10 hours a week is a realistic order of magnitude for a busy admin role. The course stresses safeguards: human approval before any sensitive message and error handling.
Course content and price
The course Automate your work with AI, without writing code is level 4 of the Artificial intelligence track, intermediate level, 100,000 FCFA. It is taught in French. It has eight modules: choosing what to automate, custom AI assistants, Google Sheets and AI on hundreds of rows, multi-step Make and Zapier scenarios, automatic documents and emails, WhatsApp Business customer intake with AI, AI agents with safeguards, and making it reliable, documented and maintained. You need a computer, a Google account and practice with structured prompts (level 3 recommended).
| Option | 2026 price | Duration | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Make or Zapier tutorials | 0 FCFA | Variable | English examples, rarely adapted to local context |
| In-person course in Dakar | 150,000 to 300,000 FCFA plus 2 days of travel | 2 to 3 days | Demos, little personal project work |
| Consultant who automates for you | 150,000 to 500,000 FCFA per process | 1 to 3 weeks | Delivered result, dependence on the provider |
| Kolonell, level 4 only | 100,000 FCFA (about 152 EUR) | 20 h online | 8 automations in a portfolio, certificate |
| Kolonell, full 5-level track | 350,000 FCFA instead of 450,000 (about 535 EUR) | Progressive | From first AI uses to AI consulting missions |
You leave with a map of 20 tasks, a custom assistant tested on 10 cases, a Google Sheet of more than 200 rows processed by AI, three Make or Zapier scenarios including one with human approval, a quote or minutes generator, a WhatsApp intake flow and the full file for one automated process. The earlier levels and level 5 on AI consulting missions are on the Artificial intelligence track.
Time saved, or a side business
| Use of the skill | 2026 order of magnitude |
|---|---|
| Hours saved per week in your own job | 4 to 10 h |
| Simple automation sold to an SME | 150,000 to 400,000 FCFA |
| Full documented process | 400,000 to 1,000,000 FCFA |
| Monthly maintenance billed | 25,000 to 75,000 FCFA |
| Tool cost to get started | 0 to 10,000 FCFA per month |
Mini case study
Learn this skill with Kolonell Academy
Short, practical online courses (taught in French), graded exercises, certificate. Pay with Wave or Orange Money.
Modou, 31, office manager at a groundnut trader in Kaolack, spends about 12 h a week on weighing entries, reminders and the Monday report. After the course, he automates data entry and the report, freeing 6 h a week. His employer, who values his hour at about 2,000 FCFA, recovers 12,000 FCFA of time a week, about 48,000 FCFA a month. The 100,000 FCFA course pays for itself in just over two months. Off-season, Modou offers the same automation to a local transport company for 200,000 FCFA, a price estimate that still has to be negotiated client by client.
FAQ
Do I need to know how to code?
No, no programming skills are required. You do need practice with AI assistants and structured prompts, taught in level 3 of the track at 75,000 FCFA.
Are the tools paid?
The free Make and Zapier accounts are enough for the course. In production, count 0 to 10,000 FCFA a month to start, plus an optional AI subscription around 13,000 FCFA.
Can I take the course on a phone?
Not the automation modules: Make and Zapier are configured on a computer. A stable connection is needed for the 20 h of practice.
Is my clients' data safe?
Module 8 covers reliability, documentation and data protection: what must never go through an AI tool and how to keep human approval in the loop.
How do I pay?
By Wave or Orange Money, online: 100,000 FCFA for this level 4, or 350,000 FCFA for all 5 levels of the track instead of 450,000.
Take the next step. Enroll in Automate your work with AI, without writing code: 20 h online (taught in French), 100,000 FCFA (about 152 EUR), 8 portfolio automations and a Kolonell Academy certificate. Pay with Wave or Orange Money. Questions? WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
