The verdict in three sentences
A custom business platform for a distribution group in Abidjan costs 15 to 45 million FCFA (about EUR 22,900 to 68,600, or GBP 19,500 to 58,500) in 2026, depending on modules and integrations. It takes a 4-person team over 4 to 6 months, billed at a local day rate of 80,000 to 150,000 FCFA (EUR 120 to 230), then about 15% of the initial cost per year in maintenance and 300,000 FCFA a month for hosting. Delivering in 6 to 8 week batches, starting with order taking, is the only way to see a return before the project ends.
What an Ivorian distributor pays in 2026
Shared Excel files hit their limits once a group has more than ten field sales reps and fifteen vehicles: conflicting versions, wrong stock figures, routes planned by hand the night before. For London-based groups and investors with West African subsidiaries, these are the ranges observed in Abidjan (2026 order of magnitude; 1 EUR = 655.957 FCFA).
| Scope | Modules | Duration | Price (FCFA excl. tax) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orders MVP | Mobile order taking, catalogue, customers, dashboard | 3 to 4 months | 15,000,000 to 20,000,000 |
| Standard platform | + multi-warehouse stock, routes, delivery notes | 4 to 5 months | 22,000,000 to 32,000,000 |
| Full platform | + invoicing, collections, Wave and Orange Money payments, driver app | 5 to 6 months | 33,000,000 to 45,000,000 |
| ERP or accounting integration (Sage, Odoo) | Customer, invoice and stock sync | + 4 to 6 weeks | 3,000,000 to 7,000,000 |
| Cloud hosting and backups | Servers, database, storage, monitoring | Monthly | 150,000 to 450,000 / month |
| Maintenance and changes | Fixes, security, small features | Yearly | 15% of initial cost |
Hosting at 300,000 FCFA (about EUR 460) a month fits a platform with 50 to 150 users, a managed database, daily backups and replication. Under 30 users, 150,000 FCFA is enough.
Team mix and local day rates
A team of 4 roles covers 90% of projects this size. Not everyone is full time for the whole project.
| Role | Allocation | Abidjan day rate 2026 (FCFA) | Days over 5 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Functional project manager | 50% | 120,000 to 150,000 | 50 |
| Senior back-end developer | 100% | 100,000 to 140,000 | 100 |
| Front-end and mobile developer | 100% | 80,000 to 120,000 | 100 |
| UX designer and tester | 40% | 80,000 to 100,000 | 40 |
| Team total | 2.9 FTE | Average 105,000 | 290 days |
At 290 days and an average rate of 105,000 FCFA, you get about 30 million FCFA (EUR 46,000), the middle of the standard range. An equivalent London or European team would bill EUR 600 to 800 a day, or 114 to 152 million FCFA for the same volume: that is the core case for local development, provided you insist on a project manager who can write testable specifications.
Delivery batches that protect the budget
| Batch | Scope | Duration | Payment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0. Scoping | Field workshops, user journeys, mock-ups, priced backlog | 3 weeks | 10% |
| 1. Orders | Catalogue, customers, offline order taking, approval | 6 weeks | 25% |
| 2. Stock | Warehouses, movements, stock counts, stock-out alerts | 5 weeks | 20% |
| 3. Routes | Planning, driver app, photo proof of delivery | 6 weeks | 25% |
| 4. Invoicing | Invoices, reminders, Wave and Orange Money collection | 4 weeks | 15% |
| Warranty | Post-delivery fixes | 3 months | 5% held back |
Each batch ends with a real production release to a pilot group. Offline mode is non-negotiable for reps working in peri-urban areas: the order is captured without signal and syncs when 3G or 4G comes back.
Mini case study
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Yao, operations director of a beverage distribution group in Abidjan with a holding company in London, manages 14 sales reps and 18 trucks on Excel. His quote for the full platform without ERP comes to 32 million FCFA (EUR 48,800), with 3.6 million hosting and 4.8 million maintenance per year.
Estimated gains: route optimisation cuts fuel by 12% on a bill of 900,000 FCFA per truck per month, or 23.3 million FCFA a year. Delivery errors and disputes fall by about 6 million a year. Gross gain: 29.3 million; recurring costs: 8.4 million; net gain: 20.9 million FCFA (EUR 31,900) a year. The project pays back in 18 to 19 months, before counting the lower tied-up stock that reliable stock-out alerts bring.
FAQ
Why such a gap between 15 and 45 million FCFA?
The number of modules and offline mode move the volume from 150 to 450 days of work. A 15 million orders MVP covers a single process; the 45 million full platform covers four, with payments and a driver app.
Can the platform collect payments through Wave and Orange Money?
Yes, through their merchant APIs. Budget 2 to 4 million FCFA for integration, with transaction fees around 1% on Wave and 1.5 to 2% on Orange Money depending on your contract.
Where should an Ivorian company's data be hosted?
A European cloud or a local data centre both work; Côte d'Ivoire's 2013 personal data law requires a filing with the ARTCI regulator. Local hosting adds 20 to 40% to the monthly bill.
What does 15% annual maintenance cover?
On a 32 million project, 4.8 million FCFA a year funds roughly 40 to 45 days: fixes, security updates, small changes and user support.
Should we build an in-house team afterwards?
Above 60 users and with a busy roadmap, an in-house developer at 700,000 to 1,200,000 FCFA gross a month (EUR 1,070 to 1,830) makes sense, with the vendor supporting on architecture.
Let's scope your project. Describe your processes (orders, stock, routes, invoicing) and your user count: we will price the batches, the team and maintenance in FCFA and EUR, with a first batch in production within 9 weeks. Detailed quote within 48 h. 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.
