The verdict in three sentences
Artisans, women's cooperatives and food processors in Ziguinchor have a rare asset: Casamance products in demand in Dakar and across the diaspora, such as honey, cashews, palm oil and carvings. Selling only on WhatsApp hits a ceiling fast, because every order takes ten messages and customers in Paris or Milan want to browse a catalogue and pay online. A simple online shop costs 10,000 to 30,000 FCFA a month, and the course Boutique en ligne: build it, fill it and keep it running, 20 hours for 75,000 FCFA and taught in French, shows you how to set it up and run it yourself.
What an online shop costs in 2026
For a Ziguinchor producer, the budget comes down to a few fixed items. The heaviest item is the time spent photographing, describing and shipping products.
| Item | Indicative cost (2026 order of magnitude) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Shop platform subscription | 10,000 to 30,000 FCFA per month | Depends on platform and features |
| Domain name (.com or .sn) | 10,000 to 15,000 FCFA per year | Renewed yearly |
| Online payment fees | 1 to 3.5% per transaction | Wave and Orange Money in Senegal, card for the diaspora |
| Shipping Ziguinchor to Dakar | 2,500 to 5,000 FCFA per parcel | Bus, courier or ferry depending on weight |
| Shipping to Europe | 15,000 to 35,000 FCFA per 1 to 2 kg parcel | Diaspora customers often pay delivery |
| Packaging (jars, labels, pouches) | 300 to 1,000 FCFA per unit | Essential for honey and oil |
| Product photos on a phone | 0 FCFA | Daylight and a plain background are enough |
To start, budget around 25,000 FCFA a month (about 38 EUR) all in, excluding shipping. Against that, a single 1 kg jar of honey sold for 6,000 FCFA in Dakar already leaves a real margin once you have a few orders a week.
WhatsApp alone or an online shop: the comparison
WhatsApp stays useful for customer service. The shop does not replace it, it removes the back-and-forth on price, photos and payment.
| Criterion | WhatsApp only | Online shop + WhatsApp |
|---|---|---|
| Time per order | 15 to 30 min of messages | 2 to 5 min of preparation |
| Diaspora payment | Manual transfer, often forgotten | Online payment at checkout |
| Catalogue | Photos scattered across statuses | Product pages with price and weight |
| Trust from a new customer | Low without a referral | Better with reviews and an About page |
| Simultaneous orders | Hard beyond 10 a day | Handled by the platform |
| Google visibility | None | Possible on "Casamance honey" |
What you learn in the course
The course Boutique en ligne: build it, fill it and keep it running is level 3 of the E-commerce and online selling track. It runs 20 hours, costs 75,000 FCFA and is paid with Wave or Orange Money. It is intermediate: using a smartphone and WhatsApp is enough, but you must be ready to work on your own shop during the course.
| Module | What you produce |
|---|---|
| Choosing your platform and budget | A costed monthly budget for your business |
| Building the shop | Structure, theme and key pages live |
| Filling the catalogue | Product pages, variants (250 g, 500 g, 1 kg), photos |
| Connecting payment and delivery | Wave, Orange Money, card, shipping rates |
| Bringing in visitors who buy | WhatsApp sharing, Facebook, diaspora |
| Running the shop every week | Update and follow-up routine |
For comparison, an in-person e-commerce course in Dakar often costs 100,000 to 250,000 FCFA, plus the trip from Ziguinchor. The full 5-level track costs 350,000 FCFA instead of 450,000.
Mini case study
Mariama, 34, coordinates a women's cooperative in Ziguinchor that produces honey and roasted cashews. Today the group sells about 40 jars of honey a month on WhatsApp, mostly in Ziguinchor.
Learn this skill with Kolonell Academy
Short, practical online courses (taught in French), graded exercises, certificate. Pay with Wave or Orange Money.
With an online shop, the goal is to reach Dakar and the diaspora: 30 extra orders a month, with an average basket of 9,000 FCFA (one jar of honey and one bag of cashews).
- Extra revenue: 30 × 9,000 = 270,000 FCFA per month.
- Estimated gross margin at 40%: 108,000 FCFA.
- Fixed costs: 25,000 FCFA a month for platform and domain.
- Net monthly gain: 108,000 − 25,000 = 83,000 FCFA.
- Course: 75,000 FCFA, paid back in about one month.
These figures are a projection, not a promise: sales depend on photo quality, regular posting and reliable shipping.
FAQ
Can Ziguinchor honey be sold to the diaspora in Europe?
Yes, but shipping a 1 to 2 kg parcel costs 15,000 to 35,000 FCFA, often paid by the customer. Food products must be well packed and labelled. Many cooperatives batch orders once a month to cut costs.
Do I need a custom website from day one?
Not necessarily. A platform at 10,000 to 30,000 FCFA a month is enough to test demand. A custom site makes sense once volume passes several hundred orders a month.
How do I get paid?
Wave and Orange Money for customers in Senegal, bank cards for the diaspora. Fees range from 1 to 3.5% depending on the method. Module 4 of the course shows how to connect them.
How long until the shop is live?
With the 20-hour course, a shop with 15 to 30 products can be live in 3 to 4 weeks, working a few hours a week.
How do I pay for the course?
The 75,000 FCFA fee is paid with Wave or Orange Money, with a certificate at the end.
Take the next step. Enroll in Boutique en ligne: build it, fill it and keep it running: 20 hours online, 75,000 FCFA, certificate included. 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.
