The verdict in three sentences
A secure client portal for a services company in Abidjan costs between 10,000,000 and 16,000,000 FCFA (approx. 15,000-24,000 EUR) for an MVP including documents, invoicing and Wave/Orange Money payment. The heavy line items are authentication/role management and the documents + invoicing + mobile-money payment space, not the design. Below ~5,000,000 FCFA of budget, an existing SaaS is more rational; above it, custom is justified by Wave/OM integration and the absence of per-user subscription fees.
Line-by-line estimate in FCFA
Typical portal for an Ivorian services SME: authenticated clients, document and invoice tracking, mobile-money payment. 2026 order of magnitude.
| Line item | Scope | Range (FCFA) |
|---|---|---|
| Scoping & mockups | Workshops, journeys, UX/UI | 800,000 |
| Authentication & roles | Login, SMS OTP, roles/permissions | 2,000,000 |
| Documents space | Upload, categories, download | 1,500,000 - 2,500,000 |
| Client invoicing | History, status, PDF, reminders | 1,500,000 - 2,500,000 |
| Wave / Orange Money payment | Integration, webhooks, reconciliation | 2,000,000 - 3,000,000 |
| SMS/e-mail notifications | Reminders, confirmations | 800,000 - 1,200,000 |
| QA & go-live | Testing, security, deployment | 1,000,000 - 1,500,000 |
| MVP total | 10,000,000 - 16,000,000 |
Mobile-money payment (Wave, Orange Money) is the differentiating line item on the Ivorian market: it is what turns a portal into a collection tool.
Recurring costs and timelines
| Item | 2026 order of magnitude | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Secure hosting | 40,000 - 150,000 FCFA | monthly |
| Domain + SSL | 10,000 - 25,000 FCFA | monthly |
| Maintenance (fixes, evolutions) | 200,000 - 600,000 FCFA | monthly |
| SMS OTP/notification fees | by volume | per SMS |
| MVP timeline | 10 - 14 weeks | one-shot |
| Enriched version | +4 to 6 weeks | one-shot |
Mobile-money transaction fees (on the collection side) belong to the business model: check the current Wave/OM rates, generally a small percentage per transaction.
Custom build or existing SaaS
| Criterion | Custom portal | SaaS (subscription) |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | 10 - 16 M FCFA | 0 - 1.5 M FCFA (setup) |
| Monthly cost | 240,000 - 750,000 FCFA | 10,000 - 40,000 FCFA/user |
| Wave/OM integration | Native, custom | Vendor-dependent |
| Customization | Unlimited | Framed |
| Profitability | > 20 active users | < 15 users |
| Code ownership | You | The vendor |
Simple rule: below 15 active clients, test a SaaS; above it, or if Wave/OM collection is central, custom becomes cheaper over 3 years.
Mini case study
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Aya, director of a B2B services company in Abidjan (Plateau) (22 employees, 120 clients) received many calls for invoice copies and handled collections manually. She invested 13,000,000 FCFA in a portal (scoping, auth, documents, invoicing, Wave/OM payment, SMS notifications), plus 450,000 FCFA/month of running costs. The portal absorbs ~75% of document requests and automates collection: average payment delay drops from 45 to 30 days, improving cash flow. Between the admin time saved (~15 h/month) and faster collections, ROI is estimated at 14 to 18 months.
FAQ
Is Wave and Orange Money payment hard to integrate?
No, but it needs reliable webhooks and rigorous reconciliation. Expect 2,000,000 to 3,000,000 FCFA for a tested Wave + Orange Money integration, including failure handling and payment retries.
Can we start with a 10,000,000 FCFA MVP?
Yes. An MVP at that level covers auth + documents + invoicing + one payment method. You add the second payment method, advanced notifications and an API in a phase 2 of 4 to 6 weeks.
Where should the data be hosted?
Reliable hosting (regional or international) with backups is enough for most SMEs. Expect 40,000 to 150,000 FCFA/month depending on traffic and service level.
Is SMS OTP needed for security?
It is strongly recommended on the Ivorian market where the phone is central. SMS OTP strengthens authentication; budget a per-SMS cost by volume, included in the notifications line.
What maintenance budget should I plan?
Between 200,000 and 600,000 FCFA/month depending on the pace of evolutions and transaction volume. Below that, you only fund security and payment fixes.
Let's scope your project. Tell us about your clients, invoice volume and whether Wave/Orange Money collection is a priority: we scope a portal MVP between 10,000,000 and 16,000,000 FCFA. 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.
