The verdict in three sentences
A last-mile company running 90 motorbike riders and 1,800 jobs a day for 140 merchants cannot scale on chat groups and spreadsheets, whether it operates in Ouagadougou or out of Singapore. A fleet management platform covering merchant ordering, job assignment, a rider PWA and automatic reconciliation of cash on delivery raises jobs per rider and shrinks cash discrepancies. Kolonell builds this in the 2,500,000 to 15,000,000+ FCFA (3,810 to 22,870+ EUR) range depending on complexity, with the rest priced on quote.
Two markets, one problem
In Ouagadougou, jobs are billed 1,000 to 2,500 FCFA and much of the value is collected in cash at the door. In Singapore, a last-mile start-up bills SGD 8 to 15 per parcel, cash on delivery is rare but still used by cross-border e-commerce clients, and riders are often gig workers. In both cases the margin depends on dispatch efficiency and clean settlement.
| Friction point | Manual operation (2026 estimate) | With the platform | Estimated gain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Order intake | Voice notes and chat messages | Merchant form with address and landmark | 3 to 5 minutes saved per job |
| Job assignment | Dispatcher on the phone | Suggestions by zone and rider load | 2 more jobs per rider per day |
| Job tracking | Calling riders | Live status, proof-of-delivery photo | Fewer disputes |
| Cash on delivery | Notebook, evening count | Entered in the app, expected total per rider | Cash gaps cut by 4 |
| Merchant settlement | Weekly, manual calculation | Automatic statement, transfer by mobile money or PayNow | Merchant trust |
| Rider pay | Manual job count | Per-rider daily counter | No more pay disputes |
Platform building blocks
- Rider PWA: installed from a link, no app store, light enough for entry-level phones, works on weak networks and stores data offline. Riders see jobs, call customers, confirm with a photo and record cash.
- Merchant dashboard: job creation, live tracking, history, statement of cash collected on their behalf and delivery fees owed.
- Dispatch console: map of pending jobs, rider load, one-click reassignment, pricing zones.
- End-of-day cash-up: expected amount per rider, amount handed in, flagged discrepancies, accounting export.
- Payments: Orange Money and Moov Money in Burkina Faso; PayNow and card in Singapore; merchant payouts automated.
- Management dashboard: daily jobs, average delivery time, success rate, revenue by merchant and zone.
Budget by scope
| Scope | Included features | Budget | Indicative timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple application (Kolonell) | Merchant orders, rider app, statuses, cash-up | 2,500,000 to 4,000,000 FCFA (3,810 to 6,100 EUR) | 2 to 3 months |
| Medium application (Kolonell) | Adds assisted dispatch, pricing zones, merchant statements, rider pay | 4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA (6,100 to 10,670 EUR) | 3 to 4 months |
| Complex application (Kolonell) | Adds route optimisation, e-commerce API, multi-city, customer app | 7,000,000 to 15,000,000+ FCFA (10,670 to 22,870+ EUR) | 5 to 7 months |
| Off-the-shelf delivery SaaS | Standard features, weak on cash on delivery | SGD 70 to 270 per rider per month, about SGD 6,300 to 24,300 monthly for 90 riders | Immediate |
| Singapore development agency | Custom build | SGD 120,000 to 300,000 | 6 to 9 months |
Hosting, SMS, mapping APIs and payment integrations are priced on quote. Application maintenance runs from 35,000 to 120,000 FCFA per month.
Mini case study
Wei Ling, co-founder of a Singapore logistics start-up expanding into West Africa, runs a 90-rider operation in Ouagadougou billing 1,500 FCFA on average per job, 1,800 jobs a day, 26 days a month.
- Monthly revenue: 1,800 x 1,500 x 26 = 70,200,000 FCFA (about SGD 156,000).
- Extra jobs from assisted dispatch: 2 more per active rider (70 active daily) = 140 jobs a day, or 140 x 1,500 x 26 = 5,460,000 FCFA more per month.
- Cash gaps: going from 0.8 % to 0.2 % of the 95,000,000 FCFA collected at the door each month saves 570,000 FCFA.
- Evening reconciliation: from 2 hours to 30 minutes for 2 cashiers, 78 hours a month.
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Compared with a per-seat SaaS at around SGD 10,000 a month, a medium-tier custom build pays back in roughly two months and leaves her with owned code to reuse in Singapore.
FAQ
Why a PWA rather than a native Android app?
A PWA installs from a link, updates without rider action and weighs under 2 MB. For a 90-rider fleet with mixed handsets, it avoids version and storage headaches.
Does it work when the network drops?
Yes, jobs and cash entries are stored on the phone and sync once the connection returns, usually within 10 minutes in town.
Can merchants' online stores create jobs automatically?
Yes, through an API. That integration belongs to the complex tier or is priced on quote as an add-on.
How do we prevent cash fraud?
The merchant sets the amount to collect when creating the job. The rider confirms with photo and location, and the cash-up flags any gap above 500 FCFA (or SGD 1 in Singapore).
What budget should we plan?
Between 2,500,000 and 15,000,000+ FCFA (3,810 to 22,870+ EUR) depending on complexity, plus maintenance of 35,000 to 120,000 FCFA a month. Everything else is priced on quote.
Let's scope your project. Share your daily job volume, zones and payment flows, and we will propose a phased scope and go-live calendar. 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.
