The verdict in three sentences
In Bobo-Dioulasso, an administrative assistant, secretary or junior accountant job is often won on a practical test: format a letter in Word, build an Excel table with formulas, prepare a few clean slides. Candidates who master all three tools at office level, and prove it with a certificate, clearly stand out. The Kolonell complete Office suite course takes 22 hours for 100,000 FCFA, payable by Wave or Orange Money.
The office job market in Bobo-Dioulasso
Burkina Faso's second city concentrates cotton and agro-industrial activity, NGOs and development projects working in the West, banks, microfinance institutions, freight forwarders and many trading SMEs. These organisations produce a lot of documents: activity reports, payment statements, stock tracking, meeting minutes, donor presentations. They hire people who can produce them quickly and cleanly.
| Target job | Typical employers in Bobo-Dioulasso | Tools tested | Monthly pay (2026 order of magnitude) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative assistant | SMEs, NGOs, private schools | Word, Excel, email | 100,000 to 160,000 FCFA |
| Junior executive secretary | Agro-industrial firms, consultancies | Advanced Word, PowerPoint | 120,000 to 200,000 FCFA |
| Junior or assistant accountant | SMEs, microfinance, forwarders | Advanced Excel | 120,000 to 200,000 FCFA |
| NGO project assistant | National and international NGOs | Excel, PowerPoint, Word reports | 150,000 to 200,000 FCFA |
| Data entry and tracking clerk | Cooperatives, logistics | Excel, simple dashboards | 90,000 to 140,000 FCFA |
Comparing the available courses
The course Complete Office suite: Word, Excel and PowerPoint at work is level 4 of the office skills track, at intermediate level, taught in French. It targets real office work: collaborating on Microsoft 365, automating recurring documents (templates, mail merge, self-updating tables) and presenting with impact to management or a donor.
| Option | 2026 cost | Length | Strengths | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classroom course in Bobo-Dioulasso | 75,000 to 150,000 FCFA | 3 to 8 weeks | Trainer in the room | Fixed hours, content sometimes dated |
| Free online tutorials | No fee, mobile data extra | Variable | Wide choice | No progression, no certificate |
| Paid international certifications | Often over 150,000 FCFA with the exam | Variable | Global recognition | Few local exam centres |
| Kolonell course, level 4 | 100,000 FCFA | 22 h online | Real office cases, exercises, certificate | Requires prior basics |
| Full office skills track (5 levels) | 350,000 FCFA instead of 450,000 | Several weeks | From first computer use to expert level | Longer commitment |
If you are a beginner, the Office and productivity track starts with computer basics, then Word and Excel separately, before this level 4.
What a recruiter checks in a 30-minute test
- Word: heading styles, automatic table of contents, headers and footers, mail merge for 50 letters.
- Excel: SUMIF, VLOOKUP or XLOOKUP, pivot table, conditional formatting.
- PowerPoint: 8 to 10 sober slides, a chart from Excel, a clear conclusion.
- Collaboration: share a file, track changes, work with others without overwriting a colleague's version.
A practical tip: prepare a one-page sample folder with a mail-merged letter, an Excel payment statement and a five-slide summary. Recruiters at NGOs and agro-industrial firms often receive 50 to 100 applications for one assistant post, and a candidate who can show finished documents on the spot shortens the shortlist in their favour.
Attach the Kolonell certificate to your CV and, if possible, two or three documents produced during the course, presented as work samples.
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.
Salif, 26, a management graduate in Bobo-Dioulasso, moves between temporary data entry jobs at 90,000 FCFA a month. He takes the 22-hour course at 100,000 FCFA over four weeks, then applies for a project assistant role at an NGO that requires an Excel and PowerPoint test. He is hired at 175,000 FCFA a month.
Calculation: an 85,000 FCFA monthly gain, so the course pays for itself in just over a month. Over a year, the gross gain reaches 1,020,000 FCFA. Time saved matters too: a monthly payment statement that took him 6 hours by hand now takes 1 hour with an automated Excel template, freeing 5 hours a month. These figures are an order of magnitude; hiring also depends on the profile and the interview.
FAQ
What level do I need before starting?
You should be able to use a computer, open and save a file, and type simple text. If not, level 1 at 25,000 FCFA for 9 hours is the right starting point.
Do I need a Microsoft 365 licence?
A licence helps with the collaboration part, but the free online versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint cover most exercises. Plan 3 to 4 hours of practice a week.
Do employers recognise the Kolonell certificate?
It is a private training certificate, not a state diploma. It proves 22 hours of completed training, and carries most weight alongside concrete documents produced during the course.
How long until I am ready for a hiring test?
As an order of magnitude, 3 to 5 weeks at 5 to 7 hours a week, repeating the Excel exercises until you complete them in under 30 minutes.
How do I pay from Burkina Faso?
Enrolment costs 100,000 FCFA, paid by Wave or Orange Money. The full track costs 350,000 FCFA instead of 450,000.
Take the next step. Enroll in Complete Office suite: Word, Excel and PowerPoint at work: 22 hours online, taught in French, 100,000 FCFA, Kolonell certificate to attach to your CV. 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.
