The verdict in three sentences
For a private clinic in Dakar or Abidjan, custom management software (admissions, billing, pharmacy, mobile payment) runs 12,000,000 to 35,000,000 FCFA in 2026, delivered in 16-24 weeks. Local priorities are Wave/Orange Money payment at admission, regional hosting and a partial offline mode to withstand outages. The headline gain: -25% unpaid bills thanks to mobile payment collected right at entry.
Cost per module in FCFA
The budget is built module by module, starting with the admissions-billing core.
| Module | 2026 range (FCFA) | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Admissions & patient record | 2,500,000 – 6,000,000 | High |
| Billing & cash desk | 2,000,000 – 5,500,000 | High |
| Wave / Orange Money payment | 1,800,000 – 4,500,000 | High |
| Pharmacy & stock | 2,200,000 – 5,500,000 | High |
| Partial offline mode | 1,500,000 – 4,000,000 | Medium |
| Management dashboards | 1,200,000 – 3,500,000 | Medium |
| Training & data migration | 1,000,000 – 2,500,000 | High |
Regional hosting and maintenance then add 150,000 to 500,000 FCFA/month depending on volume and support level.
Imported solution vs local custom
Clinics often compare an imported hospital system to a locally adapted build.
| Criterion | Imported solution | Local custom |
|---|---|---|
| Initial cost | 20,000,000 – 60,000,000 FCFA | 12,000,000 – 35,000,000 FCFA |
| Native Wave/Orange Money | Rare | Yes |
| Offline mode | Often absent | Built in |
| Local support & language | Limited | On site, in French |
| Local tariff/insurer fit | Difficult | Native |
| Regional hosting | Rare | Yes (latency, sovereignty) |
| Scalability | Vendor-dependent | Controlled |
The impact of mobile payment at admission
Collecting via Wave or Orange Money right at admission transforms cash flow.
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| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Unpaid rate | 18% | 13.5% |
| Average collection delay | 12 days | Immediate |
| Cash-desk time | 7 min | 2 min |
| Manual reconciliations / day | 60 | 12 |
Mini case study
Mr. Ndiaye, director of a private clinic in Dakar, bills 480,000,000 FCFA/year. With the unpaid rate cut from 18% to 13.5% (-4.5 points), the clinic recovers about 21,600,000 FCFA/year of previously lost receivables. Against a 24,000,000 FCFA build + 300,000 FCFA/month maintenance (3,600,000 FCFA/year), the investment is repaid in the first year, before even counting the cash-desk time savings.
FAQ
Can Wave and Orange Money really be integrated? Yes, via their merchant APIs. Native integration costs 1,800,000 to 4,500,000 FCFA and lets you collect at admission with automatic confirmation, sharply cutting unpaid bills.
What happens during an internet outage? Partial offline mode lets you keep running admissions and billing locally, then sync when the network returns. It represents 1,500,000 to 4,000,000 FCFA depending on the modules covered.
Where is the data hosted? On regional hosting to cut latency and respect health-data sovereignty. Budget 150,000 to 500,000 FCFA/month depending on volume and redundancy.
How long to deploy? 16 to 24 weeks, starting with admissions and billing, then pharmacy and dashboards. Migrating existing data is planned upfront.
Can a clinic in Abidjan use the same core? Yes, the core is reusable; only local tariffs, insurers and currency differ. This cuts the cost of a second deployment by 30 to 40%.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your bed count, priority modules (admissions, pharmacy, mobile payment) and indicative budget. 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.
