The verdict in three sentences
In Ouagadougou, recruitment by international NGOs, UN agencies and donor-funded projects draws hundreds of applications, many of them in English, and a badly formatted document is often rejected before anyone reads it. Being able to produce a clean CV, a cover letter and a 20 to 60 page report with an automatic table of contents is a skill you will use for your whole career. The course Professional Word: CVs, reports and documents that inspire trust, 10 hours for 50,000 FCFA (about 76 EUR or 83 USD), makes you independent instead of paying 10,000 to 25,000 FCFA per CV.
Why formatting matters for English-language applications
Graduates of Joseph Ki-Zerbo University, project officers and programme assistants increasingly apply in English: to international NGOs, regional programmes funded by anglophone donors, or positions in Ghana and Nigeria. English-speaking recruiters expect a specific format: a concise CV (often called a resume), a one-page cover letter, and reports with numbered headings, captions and an executive summary.
| Document | Common requirement (2026) | Costly mistake |
|---|---|---|
| CV for an international NGO | 2 pages max, clear sections, English headings | Messy alignment, mixed fonts, French date formats |
| Cover letter | 1 page, clean header | Layout that does not match the CV |
| Master's thesis | 40 to 100 pages, automatic table of contents | Manually numbered headings and pages |
| Project activity report | 20 to 60 pages, tables and charts | Overflowing tables, wrong table of contents |
| Meeting minutes | 2 to 5 pages, shared template | Every officer uses a different format |
| Application file | Standardised documents, clean PDF | Word file sent with tracked changes visible |
What the course teaches
The course Professional Word: CVs, reports and documents that inspire trust is level 2 of the Office and Productivity track and suits beginners. It is taught in French; the formatting techniques apply identically to documents you write in English, and Word's English interface uses the same menus.
| Module | Concrete result |
|---|---|
| Solid foundations in Word | Type, correct and save cleanly, useful shortcuts |
| Professional page layout | Margins, line spacing, page breaks, headers and footers |
| Styles, headings and table of contents | A 60-page table of contents updated in one click |
| Images, tables and visual elements | Readable tables, captions, well-placed images |
| CVs, letters and professional reports | A reusable CV template, letter and report |
Learn once or pay every time: the comparison
| Option | Cost (2026 estimate) | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Kolonell Professional Word course | 50,000 FCFA (76 EUR), 10 h | Independence on all your documents, certificate |
| CV written by a provider | 10,000 to 25,000 FCFA per CV | One document, to redo for each application |
| Thesis formatting at a cyber café | 15,000 to 40,000 FCFA | One-off job, corrections charged extra |
| Office course at a training centre | 60,000 to 150,000 FCFA | General course, rarely focused on reports |
| Free tutorials | 0 FCFA | Isolated tips, no method |
| Full Office track (5 levels) | 350,000 FCFA instead of 450,000 | From computer basics to executive assistant |
To then master Excel, PowerPoint and office organisation, the Office and Productivity track bundles all 5 levels for 350,000 FCFA instead of 450,000.
Mini case study
Salimata, 27, holds a master's in sociology from Ouagadougou and applies for monitoring and evaluation assistant roles at international NGOs, half of them in English. In one year she paid for 6 tailored CVs at 15,000 FCFA each and her thesis formatting at 30,000 FCFA, 120,000 FCFA in total (about 183 EUR).
Learn this skill with Kolonell Academy
Short, practical online courses (taught in French), graded exercises, certificate. Pay with Wave or Orange Money.
Calculation: with the 50,000 FCFA course she tailors her French and English CVs herself for every offer and formats her own reports. Over a comparable year she saves around 70,000 FCFA. The bigger gain is speed: she can answer an offer the same day, and her 30-page reports have a table of contents that updates itself. These amounts are an estimate that depends on the number of applications.
FAQ
Do I need to know Word already?
No. The course is beginner level and starts with the basics. You need to be comfortable with a keyboard and mouse, and to plan about 10 hours over 2 to 3 weeks.
The course is in French. Does it help with an English CV?
Yes. Layout, styles, tables and templates work the same way whatever the language of your text. You build one template and produce both a French and an English version in under an hour.
Can I take the course on a phone?
Videos play on a phone, but the exercises require a computer with Word or the free web version of Microsoft 365. Two to three hours a week at a cyber café is enough.
How do I pay from Burkina Faso?
Enrolment costs 50,000 FCFA (about 76 EUR or 83 USD), paid by Wave or Orange Money. For questions before paying, message +221 77 596 93 33 on WhatsApp.
Is a good-looking CV enough to get hired?
No. Good formatting keeps you from being screened out early, but content, experience and the interview remain decisive. The course improves your documents; it does not guarantee a job.
Take the next step. Enroll in Professional Word: CVs, reports and documents that inspire trust: 10 hours, 50,000 FCFA, Kolonell Academy 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.
