The verdict in three sentences
To discover AI in Daloa, free videos are enough to open an account, but they age fast and rarely tell you what you must never paste into ChatGPT. A one-off workshop in town gives a good spark, often at a higher cost and with no material to review afterwards. Kolonell Academy's Level 1 Essential course (25,000 FCFA, about EUR 38, 5 h) sits in between: a short, structured program with safety rules written down in black and white and a costed decision on paid subscriptions.
The three options compared
Whether you teach in a high school, work for a cocoa cooperative, run a shop at the main market or work at the town hall, the question is the same: how to learn fast without wasting time or exposing your documents.
| Criterion | Free YouTube videos | One-day workshop in Daloa | Kolonell Academy, Level 1 Essential |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 cost | 0 FCFA (excluding mobile data) | roughly 20,000 to 50,000 FCFA | 25,000 FCFA once (about EUR 38) |
| Duration | variable, often scattered | 1 day, fixed date | 5 h, at your own pace |
| Updates | depends on the creator, often outdated | none after the workshop | lifetime access, updates included |
| Data safety rules | rarely covered | depends on the trainer | a whole module (module 4) |
| Material to review | no | sometimes a handout | one PDF per module |
| Exercises and quizzes | no | sometimes | after each lesson, a quiz per module |
| Certificate | no | attendance certificate | numbered certificate, verifiable online |
Free videos remain an excellent complement; your final project must also be approved by a reviewer. The problem is the order: without a program, you pick up tricks without knowing when AI makes up an answer, or what to do with a document containing your students' names or your customers' amounts.
What Level 1 actually contains
The course Discover AI and Use It This Week, taught in French, has four short modules and twelve lessons of 12 to 15 minutes, each followed by an exercise on your phone.
| Module | What you learn | What you produce |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Understanding what AI really is (free preview) | What AI does well, what it invents, the six-task test | List of tasks in your week it can lighten |
| 2. Getting started with the main tools | Free ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot accounts, Meta AI in WhatsApp, voice and photo | Configured account, Meta AI ready in WhatsApp |
| 3. Five useful uses this week | The clear four-part request | Ten reusable requests, log of five tested uses |
| 4. Limits, risks and good practices | Three checks, personal data, fake-voice scams | Your personal rules sheet |
Module 4 is what sets it apart from a free video. There you write your rules sheet: what is never pasted (ID documents, health data, passwords), what gets anonymized before pasting (names, numbers, amounts), and the three checks before using an answer. The course cites Senegal's data protection law 2008-12; in Côte d'Ivoire the equivalent text is law 2013-450, and the same principle of caution applies.
Module 2 also gives you the real price of paid versions: about 11,500 FCFA per month in September 2026, close to 138,000 FCFA a year. You leave with a costed decision: stay on the free tier or pay, based on your actual use.
Prerequisites: knowing how to use WhatsApp and having an email address, preferably Gmail. No technical skills needed.
What you can expect
This course does not aim at direct income. Its stated gain is time: 1 to 3 hours saved per week on messages, summaries and organization, depending on how much writing your work involves. It is also the foundation required for the next levels of the Artificial Intelligence track, starting with level 2 on writing, analyzing and organizing your work with AI. The full five-level track costs 350,000 FCFA instead of 450,000, and this level 1 is deducted if you upgrade.
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.
Consider a hypothetical learner: Konan, 38, a French teacher at a high school in Daloa. He hesitates between watching videos in the evening and taking a course. He first does the free module 1, then enrolls and completes the 5 hours over two Saturday mornings.
Illustrative calculation: the course costs 25,000 FCFA. If it saves him 1 hour a week on report comments and letters, that is about 4 hours a month. And if the costed decision in module 2 keeps him from taking an 11,500 FCFA monthly subscription he does not need, the course pays for itself in just over two months. This is a calculation scenario, not a guaranteed result.
FAQ
I am not comfortable with computers. Is this for me?
Yes. If you can send a WhatsApp voice message, you can follow the 12 lessons. Every step is explained one at a time, on the phone first.
Do I need to pay for a ChatGPT subscription?
No. Everything is done with the free versions of ChatGPT, Gemini and Meta AI. Module 2 gives you the real price of paid versions, about 11,500 FCFA per month, and the test to know whether you need one.
Are there videos or live classes?
No: written lessons, one PDF per module, exercises, quizzes and a final project. You have the course forum and WhatsApp support for questions. Everything works on a phone on 3G, with no app to install.
Is the certificate a degree?
No. It is a numbered Kolonell Academy certificate, verifiable online (QR code), that you can add to LinkedIn, earned by passing the module quizzes with at least 70 %; your final project must also be approved by a reviewer. It attests that you completed the course.
How do I pay from Daloa?
With Wave or Orange Money at +221 77 596 93 33. Access is activated within 24 working hours after payment. It is no longer refundable once activated, so try the free module 1 first.
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Take the next step. Enroll in Discover AI and Use It This Week: 5 h, Level 1 Essential, 25,000 FCFA (about EUR 38), verifiable Kolonell Academy 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.
