The verdict in three sentences
An industrial business park hosting 60 tenant companies loses significant revenue every year through late rent, poorly rebilled water and electricity, and forgotten maintenance requests, whether it sits in Cotonou, Dubai or Rotterdam. A custom management platform costs 20 to 45 million FCFA (about EUR 30,500 to 68,600), ships in 5 to 7 months and cuts arrears by around 25% through automated SMS, email and WhatsApp reminders. Running costs stay modest, around 150,000 FCFA (EUR 230) per month for hosting and backups, and reports to the public landlord or investor are produced in one click.
Modules and their cost
The budget depends mostly on the number of modules and the equipment to connect (meters, gates, badge readers). Here is a typical breakdown for a 60-tenant park, benchmarked on West Africa and comparable to free zones in the Middle East and logistics parks in Europe.
| Module | Function | 2026 cost (order of magnitude) | Lead time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leases and rent | Leases, schedule, indexation, deposits | 4 to 8 M FCFA (EUR 6,100 to 12,200) | 6 weeks |
| Billing and reminders | Monthly invoices, reminders at D+5, D+15, D+30, mobile money, card, bank transfer | 3 to 7 M FCFA (EUR 4,600 to 10,700) | 4 weeks |
| Water and power rebilling | Sub-meter readings, utility tariffs, shared-area allocation | 4 to 9 M FCFA (EUR 6,100 to 13,700) | 6 weeks |
| Badges and access control | Staff and vehicle badges, entry log, visitors | 3 to 8 M FCFA (EUR 4,600 to 12,200) | 5 weeks |
| Maintenance | Tenant tickets, technician dispatch, SLAs, photos | 2 to 5 M FCFA (EUR 3,000 to 7,600) | 4 weeks |
| Tenant portal | Invoices, tickets, documents, announcements | 2 to 4 M FCFA (EUR 3,000 to 6,100) | 3 weeks |
| Landlord reporting | Occupancy, collection, jobs created | 2 to 4 M FCFA (EUR 3,000 to 6,100) | 3 weeks |
A minimal core (leases, billing, portal) starts around 20 M FCFA; the full version with badges and connected sub-meters reaches 40 to 45 M FCFA. In Europe or the Gulf, the same scope built by a local agency typically costs 1.5 to 2.5 times more.
Current situation and expected gains
| Indicator | Spreadsheets and paper | With the platform | Estimated effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arrears at 60 days | 12 to 18% of rent | 9 to 13% | About -25% arrears |
| Invoice issue delay | 10 to 20 days after month end | 1 to 2 days | Cash in 2 weeks earlier |
| Energy rebilled | 85 to 92% of consumption | 98% or more | 3 to 8% revenue recovered |
| Maintenance ticket turnaround | 7 to 12 days | 2 to 4 days | Higher tenant retention |
| Quarterly report preparation | 4 to 6 working days | 1 hour | Reliable data for the landlord |
| Access control | Paper register | Time-stamped searchable log | Security and evidence after incidents |
Recurring costs to plan: hosting and daily backups around 150,000 FCFA per month, reminder SMS at roughly 15 to 25 FCFA each, optional evolutive maintenance of 300,000 to 600,000 FCFA (EUR 460 to 915) per month.
Watch points
Three topics drive success. Connectivity: the app must run on unstable 4G, with a degraded mode for field agents reading meters. Payments: tenants pay by transfer, check, card or mobile money, and the platform must reconcile each receipt automatically. Personal data: badge logs contain employee data, to be declared and protected under local law (Benin's Digital Code, GDPR in Europe, PDPL in the Gulf).
Mini case study
Mr Houngbédji, director of a 60-tenant business park near Cotonou, bills 900 M FCFA (EUR 1.37M) a year in rent and charges. Arrears at 60 days stand at 12%, or 108 M FCFA. A 25% cut frees 27 M FCFA of cash per year. On 120 M FCFA of water and power, only 92% is rebilled today; reaching 98% brings in 7.2 M FCFA. The full platform costs 34 M FCFA plus 150,000 FCFA per month, so 35.8 M FCFA (EUR 54,600) in year one. Annual gains: 27 + 7.2 = 34.2 M FCFA, payback in 12 to 13 months, then about 32 M FCFA net gain each following year.
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FAQ
How much does a business park management platform cost?
In 2026, budget 20 to 45 million FCFA (EUR 30,500 to 68,600) depending on modules and connected equipment. Hosting and backups cost about 150,000 FCFA (EUR 230) per month.
Can tenants pay by mobile money?
Yes, the platform integrates MTN MoMo, Moov Money and Wave alongside bank transfer and cards. Each payment is matched automatically to its invoice, cutting reconciliation work by about 80%.
How is energy consumption rebilled?
Sub-meter readings are entered on mobile or collected automatically, then priced at utility tariffs with the shared-area allocation. Rebilling usually rises from 85 to 92% to over 98%.
What timeline should we expect?
The full project takes 5 to 7 months. A core of leases, billing and portal can go live in 3 months, then badges and maintenance are added.
Does the platform produce landlord or investor reports?
Yes, a dashboard exports occupancy, collection and declared jobs per tenant. The quarterly report, which took 4 to 6 days, is generated in under an hour.
Let's scope your project. Describe your park (number of tenants, meters, access control): we will price the platform module by module, between 20 and 45 M FCFA, with a 5 to 7 month plan. 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.
