The verdict in three sentences
In Mbour and Saly, hospitality and tourism offer seasonal, poorly paid jobs, and many teachers and young graduates are looking for a career they can practice remotely. Full-stack web development is one of the few skills that lets you work for Dakar, Abidjan or Europe from the Petite-Côte with a laptop and a connection. The career change does, however, require 6 to 12 months of steady effort: no serious course promises a job within a few weeks.
Why Mbour is a good starting point for a career change
The cost of living in Mbour remains lower than in Dakar, fiber and 4G now cover most of the city and Saly, and companies hiring developers increasingly accept remote work. A hotel receptionist who already speaks English or a teacher used to explaining and structuring has real assets for this job.
The main obstacle is the price of training. Serious bootcamps are in Dakar, are expensive and often require you to stop working.
| Career change option | 2026 price (FCFA) | Duration | Compatible with a job in Mbour? | Portfolio at the end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free self-study (YouTube, open resources) | 0 | 12 to 24 months, frequent dropout | Yes | Variable |
| International online certificates (English) | 0 to 50,000 | 6 to 12 months | Yes | Often template exercises |
| In-person bootcamp in Dakar | 1,500,000 to 3,000,000 | 3 to 6 months full time | No, relocation or commuting | Yes |
| Professional IT bachelor's degree | 600,000 to 1,500,000 per year | 3 years | Difficult | Variable |
| Kolonell Full-Stack Developer course (level 5 Expert) | 200,000 | 61 h, self-paced | Yes | 8 GitHub projects and 1 deployed app |
What the course contains
The course Full-Stack JavaScript Developer is level 5 Expert of the Web Development track, priced at 200,000 FCFA (about 305 EUR) and taught in French. It is the most in-depth course of the track: 61 hours, 9 modules, 68 lessons and 185 corrected exercises, including automatically tested coding exercises. It starts from zero and covers the basics at a fast pace.
| Block | Modules | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Front-end foundation | HTML, responsive CSS, JavaScript up to async | Build a mockup and make it interactive |
| Tools of the trade | Git and the terminal | Work as in a company, publish on GitHub |
| Modern interfaces | React, then server-rendered Next.js | Build fast, well-indexed applications |
| Back-end | Node, Express, PostgreSQL, Prisma | Create an API and a database |
| Job hunting | Portfolio, technical CV, LinkedIn | Apply for jobs or approach clients |
Each module ends with a quiz and a project, 9 projects graded on a public rubric, up to the capstone: order management for a shop that sells on WhatsApp. The verifiable certificate is issued once a trainer validates the capstone. You can also take the Web Development track level by level: the full 5-level track costs 350,000 FCFA instead of 450,000 FCFA.
Job prospects and income: 2026 orders of magnitude
These ranges are observed in Senegal and on remote work platforms in 2026. They are not a promise: portfolio quality, English and consistent prospecting make all the difference.
| Outcome | Indicative 2026 income | Realistic delay after the course |
|---|---|---|
| Internship in a company or agency in Dakar | 75,000 to 150,000 FCFA per month | 1 to 3 months |
| First junior developer job (Dakar, hybrid or remote) | 200,000 to 400,000 FCFA per month | 3 to 9 months |
| Experienced junior developer after 1 to 2 years | 300,000 to 600,000 FCFA per month | 12 to 24 months |
| Site or app for a Petite-Côte hotel or shop | 300,000 to 1,000,000 FCFA per project | 2 to 6 months |
| Remote assignment for a European client | 15 to 30 EUR per hour, about 10,000 to 20,000 FCFA | 6 to 12 months, with good English |
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.
Ousmane, 29, a receptionist in a Saly hotel, earns 150,000 FCFA per month, with a 4-month low season when his hours drop. He takes the 200,000 FCFA course over 8 months, 2 hours a day on days off and in the evenings, without leaving his job.
His capstone and a booking site built for a Mbour guesthouse, billed 350,000 FCFA, become his portfolio. He then lands a remote junior developer job with a Dakar agency at 300,000 FCFA per month. Calculation: 300,000 minus 150,000 gives a monthly gain of 150,000 FCFA. The guesthouse project alone pays back the course, and the salary gain covers its cost in under 6 weeks.
FAQ
Can I really start with no IT background?
Yes, the first four modules start from the first HTML tag. Plan for 61 hours of lessons and as much personal practice, about 6 to 12 months part time.
What equipment do I need?
A laptop with 8 GB of RAM, new or refurbished, around 200,000 to 350,000 FCFA in Mbour or Dakar in 2026, and a stable 4G or fiber connection.
Do I need to speak English?
Not to follow the course, which is taught in French. For remote assignments paid in EUR, decent written English significantly improves your chances.
Why 200,000 FCFA instead of a Dakar bootcamp?
A bootcamp costs 1.5 to 3 million FCFA and often requires full-time attendance. This course is followed remotely without leaving your job; in return, personal discipline is essential.
Is the certificate enough to get hired?
No, your portfolio of 8 GitHub repositories and your deployed application are what convince. The verifiable certificate proves you completed and validated the capstone.
Take the next step. Enroll in Full-Stack JavaScript Developer: 61 h, 200,000 FCFA, 9 graded projects and a verifiable certificate, taught in French. 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.
