The verdict in three sentences
Touba is one of Senegal's largest trading hubs, and many traders at the Ocass market already sell via WhatsApp to customers in Dakar, Kaolack or the diaspora. Moving to organized online selling comes down to three numbers: national delivery at 2,000 to 3,500 FCFA per parcel, marketplace commissions of 10 to 20% and a target margin of 25 to 40%. The course E-commerce: selling online in Senegal and French-speaking Africa, taught in French, teaches you to control these numbers for 50,000 FCFA (76 EUR) and 12 hours.
The real costs of selling online from Touba
Selling online is not free, even without a website. Every order carries costs that must be built into the displayed price, or the margin disappears. Here are the cost lines to plan for, as a 2026 estimate.
| Cost line | Indicative 2026 amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery within Touba and Mbacké | 1,000 to 1,500 FCFA | Motorbike courier, often paid by the customer |
| National delivery (Dakar, Thiès, Kaolack, Saint-Louis) | 2,000 to 3,500 FCFA per parcel | Carriers and delivery companies, by weight |
| Marketplace commission | 10 to 20% of the sale price | Depending on product category |
| Wave collection fees | 1% merchant side on merchant payments | Depending on account type |
| Returns and refused parcels | 5 to 15% of cash-on-delivery orders | Drops sharply with a Wave deposit |
| Product photos | 0 FCFA with a phone, 20,000 to 40,000 FCFA with a photographer | The course shows the phone method |
| Facebook or TikTok ads (optional) | 2,000 to 5,000 FCFA per day | Test after the first sales |
Example: a boubou sold at 15,000 FCFA, bought at 9,000 FCFA, delivered to Dakar for 2,500 FCFA paid by you. Your margin falls to 3,500 FCFA, or 23%. On a marketplace charging 15%, it drops to 1,250 FCFA. Hence the importance of selling direct with Wave or Orange Money payment and charging delivery to the customer.
Options to learn online selling
| Option | Cost | Duration | What you get | Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-learning on YouTube and TikTok | 0 FCFA (mobile data about 5,000 FCFA a month) | Several months | Scattered tips | Few figures adapted to Senegal |
| In-person workshop in Dakar | 75,000 to 200,000 FCFA, plus Touba-Dakar round trip of about 10,000 FCFA | 1 to 3 days | Direct contact with a trainer | No follow-up, often generic content |
| Kolonell Academy, level 2 « E-commerce: selling online in Senegal » | 50,000 FCFA (76 EUR) | 12 h, from your phone | Offer, catalog, pricing, Wave and Orange Money collection, delivery, retention | Requires practicing on your own products |
| Full E-commerce track (5 levels) | 350,000 FCFA instead of 450,000 | Several months | From WhatsApp selling to managing margins and a team | Longer commitment |
This course is level 2 of the E-commerce and online selling track. The program's stated goal is concrete: a first online order collected via Wave within 30 days, with no website and no ad budget. It ends with an applied project and a verifiable certificate.
Calculating your online selling price
| Typical product from Touba | Purchase price | Shop price | Recommended online price (delivery extra) | Online gross margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Embroidered boubou | 9,000 FCFA | 13,000 FCFA | 15,000 FCFA | 40% |
| Café Touba 1 kg | 2,500 FCFA | 3,500 FCFA | 4,000 FCFA | 37% |
| Incense and thiouraye (bundle) | 3,000 FCFA | 4,500 FCFA | 5,000 FCFA | 40% |
| Men's shoes | 12,000 FCFA | 16,000 FCFA | 17,500 FCFA | 31% |
| Woven cloth (3 m) | 7,000 FCFA | 9,500 FCFA | 10,000 FCFA | 30% |
These are 2026 orders of magnitude: each trader must redo the calculation with their own purchase prices, which the course walks through step by step.
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.
Modou, 29, sells boubous and Café Touba at the Ocass market. He pays 50,000 FCFA for the course via Wave and applies the method: a 30-item WhatsApp catalog, a 50% Wave deposit, delivery paid by the customer. Within 6 weeks, he completes 40 online orders with an average margin of 3,000 FCFA, or 120,000 FCFA of extra margin. The course pays for itself in under 3 weeks. His refused parcels drop from about 12% to 3% thanks to the deposit, as an order of magnitude and with no guarantee.
FAQ
Do I need a website to sell online from Touba?
No, the course starts with WhatsApp Business, a catalog and Wave or Orange Money collection. A website becomes useful beyond roughly 100 orders a month.
How do I avoid refused cash-on-delivery parcels?
Ask for a 30 to 50% deposit via Wave or Orange Money before shipping. This often brings refusals down from 10 to 15% to under 5% of orders.
Are marketplaces worth their 10 to 20% commission?
They bring traffic, but keep them for products with a margin above 35%. For the rest, direct selling keeps the full margin.
Can I sell to the diaspora from Touba?
Yes, many orders come from Senegalese in France, Italy or the United States. The shipping module explains how to price international parcels, often 8,000 to 15,000 FCFA (12 to 23 EUR) per kilo depending on destination.
How much time does the course take?
The 12 hours are self-paced, for example 1 hour a day for 2 weeks, on your phone. The 50,000 FCFA fee is paid via Wave or Orange Money.
Take the next step. Enroll in E-commerce: selling online in Senegal and French-speaking Africa: 12 h online, taught in French, 50,000 FCFA (76 EUR), verifiable certificate. 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.
