Dakar restaurants on Yassir or Glovo know it: delivery blows up volume, but commissions kill margin. 25-30% on every order, plus delivery fees billed to the client — for a restaurant running 35-40% margins, that's literally half the profit going to the platform. Building your own online ordering with dedicated delivery breaks this model.
TL;DR
- Yassir/Glovo take 25-30% commission + delivery fees paid by the client. A Dakar restaurant doing 4M FCFA/month in takeaway gives 1 to 1.2M FCFA/month to the platforms.
- A restaurant site with menu, Wave/OM ordering, delivery via own courier or YobanteXpress costs 1.2 to 1.8M FCFA and replaces 40-60% of Yassir volume in 6 months.
- Restaurants keeping Yassir in parallel (for new customers) + direct site (for loyal ones) maximize both margin and volume.
The calculation most restaurants don't do
A Plateau halal restaurant, 4M FCFA/month in Yassir takeaway sales:
- Platform commission (27%): 1,080,000 FCFA/month lost
- Delivery fees (charged to client, not you): 350-500 FCFA per order
- No loyalty option (clients belong to Yassir, not you)
- No remarketing (Yassir doesn't share email/phone base)
With a direct site, the restaurant recovers 85-90% of the Yassir margin. The 10-15% goes to own courier (hired or contracted with YobanteXpress at 800-1,200 FCFA per trip).
4 modules for a game-changing restaurant site
1. Photographed + categorized menu
Each dish: HD photo (no stock photos), 1-line description, price, filter (starter / main / drink / dessert), halal/vegetarian/gluten-free mention if relevant, options (side choice, sauce, drink). Menu updated in real time — a sold-out dish disappears from the menu in 2 clicks.
2. Online takeaway + delivery ordering
Client orders, pays immediately via Wave/OM/CC, picks "takeaway on-site" (slot) or "delivery" (zones displayed). SMS confirmation. When the order is ready, notification SMS.
3. Zone-by-zone delivery
Define your delivery zones: Plateau (free > 12,000 FCFA), Almadies/Ngor (1,500 FCFA), Mermoz/Fann (2,000 FCFA), rest of Dakar (on quote). Zones displayed on zip code entry at checkout.
4. Table reservation
Indispensable complement — half a restaurant's revenue is on-site. 1-click table reservation: slot, party size, special notes. Email confirmation + 2h reminder.
Budget — 80-seat restaurant, 60-dish menu
- 5 pages + photographed menu: 720,000 FCFA
- Online ordering + Wave/OM/CC payment: 450,000 FCFA
- Zone delivery + real-time tracking: 220,000 FCFA
- Table reservation + SMS reminders: 150,000 FCFA
- Local SEO Plateau + Restaurant schema.org + menu JSON-LD: 180,000 FCFA
- 6-month maintenance: 70,000 × 6 = 420,000 FCFA
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Total: 2,140,000 FCFA. If the restaurant recovers 40% of Yassir volume direct (= 1.6M FCFA/month), it saves 432,000 FCFA in commission/month. Payback in ~5 months.
Why keep Yassir in parallel
Some Dakar restaurants think "I remove Yassir completely". Mistake. Yassir brings new customer discovery (users who don't know you yet). Keep Yassir for new clients — then on the invoice/packaging, insert a flyer "Next order direct: -15% on kolonell.com/myresto + Wave/OM free delivery Plateau". 30-40% of Yassir clients receiving this flyer order directly next time.
2 mistakes killing the effect
- Menu without photos — kills desire. Each dish needs a clean photo, proper lighting, top-down shot.
- Too-wide delivery zones without dedicated courier — if you accept delivery at 25 km, you'll deliver in 90 min, client disappointed, 2-star review. Rigorously limit zones to real capacity.
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Run a Dakar restaurant and want out of Yassir dependency?
Kolonell ships restaurant sites with ordering + delivery + reservation in 7-9 weeks. Free quote at kolonell.com/en/devis-gratuit or WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
FAQ
How long to reach significant volume?
3-4 months. First 2 months = Google referencing + WhatsApp sharing + flyers. From month 3, regulars order directly.
Do I need my own courier?
Depends on volume. Under 30 deliveries/day: outsource to YobanteXpress or independent courier. Above: hire 1-2 couriers (salary + scooter).
How to manage rush orders?
Simultaneous order cap configurable (e.g., max 12 orders/15 min). Site displays "slot full, next: 1:45 PM". Essential to avoid disappointing.
Is Wave/OM payment reliable for a restaurant?
Yes, Wave/OM are very reliable in Dakar 2026. Failure rate < 2%. Plan a credit card fallback for business and diaspora clients.
Mohamed Ba
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.
