The verdict in three sentences
In Dakar, an executive assistant, accountant or HR officer often spends 5 to 8 hours a week copying, rewording and resending the same information between Gmail, Excel and WhatsApp. Kolonell's Automate your work with AI, no code required course (level 4 of the Artificial Intelligence track, 100,000 FCFA or about 152 EUR, 20 hours) teaches you to hand those tasks to AI assistants, Google Sheets, Make and Zapier, with human approval at the sensitive steps. The tools are free or cost under 20 USD a month, and the time you win back pays off in weeks.
Where your office hours go in Dakar
In an SME on the Plateau, an accounting firm in Mermoz or an NGO in Almadies, the same tasks return every week: chasing invoices, updating a tracking sheet, writing meeting minutes, answering the same client questions on WhatsApp, copying form data into Excel. None of them is hard. Together, they eat a full working day.
| Repetitive task | Typical weekly time | No-code automation | Time left after automation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invoice and quote reminders by email | 1 h 30 | Make scenario from Google Sheets to Gmail, with approval | 15 min |
| Meeting minutes | 1 h 30 | Custom AI assistant working from notes | 20 min |
| Copying forms into a spreadsheet | 1 h | Google Forms linked to Sheets, AI sorting | 10 min |
| Answering common WhatsApp questions | 2 h | Quick replies and structured WhatsApp Business greeting | 45 min |
| Weekly report to the director | 1 h | Sheets dashboard and generated summary | 15 min |
| Screening incoming CVs (HR) | 1 h | AI extraction of criteria into Sheets | 20 min |
Total for this typical profile: about 8 hours before, just over 2 hours after. These are 2026 orders of magnitude: real savings depend on your task volume and data quality. The course itself states 4 to 10 hours saved per week depending on the role.
Options for learning automation in Dakar
You can teach yourself with tutorials, attend an in-person corporate seminar, or take a structured course with graded projects. Here is a realistic comparison.
| Option | Price (2026 order of magnitude) | Format | Graded projects | Fits the Senegalese context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kolonell, Automate your work with AI (level 4) | 100,000 FCFA (about 152 EUR) | 20 h online, 8 modules, 99 exercises | 8 projects, verifiable certificate | Yes: WhatsApp Business, Law 2008-12, SME cases |
| Hotel seminar in Dakar | 150,000 to 400,000 FCFA for 2 to 3 days | In person, fixed hours | Rarely | Varies |
| YouTube tutorials | 0 FCFA, excluding data | Self-directed | No | Little |
| Vendor online certifications | Free to a few tens of USD | Focused on one tool | Automated quizzes | No |
| Hiring someone to automate for you | 150,000 to 400,000 FCFA per simple automation | Turnkey | Not applicable | Yes, but you stay dependent |
Tool costs stay low: Google Sheets and Gmail are free, Make and Zapier have limited free tiers then entry plans under 20 USD a month, and a paid AI assistant subscription runs around 20 USD a month if you want it.
What the course covers
The course on automating office tasks with AI, no coding is taught in French and assumes you already use AI methodically and can build a spreadsheet. No code is required.
| Module | Concrete outcome |
|---|---|
| 1. Choosing what to automate | Map of your tasks, ranked by gain |
| 2. Custom AI assistants | One assistant tested on 10 real cases |
| 3. Google Sheets and AI | Over 200 rows processed automatically |
| 4. Multi-step Make and Zapier scenarios | Three running scenarios, one with human approval |
| 5. Automatic documents and emails | Generated quotes and minutes |
| 6. WhatsApp Business and AI | A client greeting flow |
| 7. AI agents with guardrails | Supervised delegation of a full task |
| 8. Reliability, documentation, maintenance | Process file with its monthly cost |
Humans keep the decisions: approval before sending, takeover of sensitive conversations, compliance with Senegal's Law 2008-12 on personal data. You need a computer. This course is level 4 of the Artificial Intelligence track; the full 5-level track costs 350,000 FCFA instead of 450,000 FCFA.
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.
Mariama, 29, is an executive assistant at an accounting firm in Dakar. Every week she chases about forty clients for missing documents, writes two sets of minutes and maintains a case tracking sheet. She estimates these tasks at 7 hours a week.
After the course, she builds a Make scenario: Google Sheets flags incomplete files, an AI assistant drafts the reminder, and she approves in one click before Gmail sends it. Her minutes start from a custom assistant. She drops to 2 hours a week.
Calculation: 5 hours saved per week, about 20 hours a month. On a 400,000 FCFA salary for 173 hours, one hour costs the employer about 2,300 FCFA; 20 hours equal 46,000 FCFA a month. The 100,000 FCFA course plus a Make plan of about 10 USD a month is recovered in just over two months. Illustrative example: your figures will depend on your role.
FAQ
Do I need to know how to code?
No. You only need to fill in a Google form and build a spreadsheet. The 20 hours use visual tools such as Make, Zapier and Google Sheets, with no code.
What do the tools cost after the course?
Google Sheets and Gmail are free. Make and Zapier have free tiers and entry plans under 20 USD a month, enough for most needs of a 5 to 10 person team.
Is my client data safe?
Part of the course covers guardrails: human approval, sensitive data kept away from AI, compliance with Law 2008-12. You learn to document every process so you know what flows where.
Can I sell this skill as a freelancer?
Yes. In Dakar in 2026, a simple automation is billed 150,000 to 400,000 FCFA and maintenance 25,000 to 75,000 FCFA a month, as an order of magnitude. No client volume is guaranteed; level 5 of the track covers selling such engagements.
How do I enroll and pay?
Enrollment at 100,000 FCFA is paid with Wave or Orange Money. The full 5-level track costs 350,000 FCFA instead of 450,000 FCFA.
Take the next step. Enroll in Automate your work with AI, no code required: 20 hours, 100,000 FCFA, verifiable 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.
