Pro TrackEntrepreneurshipAdvanced Version française

Digital entrepreneur: building a profitable offer and growing it

A profitable flagship offer, a 50% recurring revenue target and a 24-month growth plan your cash flow can support

  • 40 h of training
  • 10 modules · 52 lessons
  • 124 exercises
  • 10 projects
  • Certificate included

What you will be able to do

  • Designing and managing a business model built on services and digital products
  • Analyzing unit economics: margin, acquisition cost, customer lifetime value, churn
  • Building a multichannel B2B acquisition system and a referral partner program
  • Responding to public, donor-funded and corporate tenders, including international ones
  • Structuring an OHADA company legally and preparing a financing application
  • Leading an organization by objectives and building a 24-month growth plan

What you will produce

  • Your business diagnosis and your three-year direction
  • Your productized flagship offer, its sales page and your value ladder
  • Your unit economics simulator with three scenarios
  • Your recurring offer and your churn reduction plan
  • Your digital product validated through pre-orders
  • Your multichannel acquisition system and your referral partner program
  • Your key account or tender file and your financing application
  • Your 24-month growth plan with a management dashboard

Possible earnings

A digital company selling productized services with 40 to 50% recurring revenue commonly reaches 30 to 80 million FCFA (about $50,000 to $133,000) in annual sales in Dakar or Abidjan with 5 to 10 people, and a well-positioned digital product often adds 500,000 to 3,000,000 FCFA (about $830 to $5,000) per launch (order of magnitude observed in Dakar and Abidjan in 2026; it varies widely with the segment and execution, and no result is guaranteed).

Indicative estimate, depending on your market, pace and work. No income is guaranteed.

Tools used

  • Google Sheets
  • Google Docs
  • Notion
  • HubSpot CRM (free)
  • LinkedIn
  • WhatsApp Business
  • Google Business Profile
  • Google Search Console
  • Wave
  • Orange Money
  • Canva
  • Google Meet

What you'll learn

  • Diagnose your business model offer by offer and set a quantified three-year direction
  • Design a productized flagship offer for a segment that can pay and place it within a value ladder
  • Calculate gross margin, acquisition cost and customer lifetime value, and test your prices across three scenarios
  • Raise the share of recurring revenue toward 50% and validate a digital product through pre-orders
  • Set up a measured multichannel acquisition system and sell to key accounts, donors and public buyers
  • Choose your OHADA structure, organize the arrival of partners and put together a suitable financing application
  • Delegate by objectives, steer with 12 indicators and write a 24-month growth plan

Prerequisites

  • Having completed "Growing your agency: processes, subcontracting and hiring" (level 4), or already running a digital business with regular clients and at least one employee or subcontractor
  • Having your figures for the last 12 months (sales, clients, expenses), even approximate ones
  • Being comfortable with Google Sheets (simple formulas) and with selling your services

About this course

Your business works. You have clients, maybe a team. But growth still depends on your working days: every month starts almost from scratch, two or three clients account for half of your revenue, and you are not really sure which offers make you money. You have ideas (a product, a new country, a key account, a partner) and no method for deciding. This professional course gives you the tools of a business leader. You read your business through its numbers and set a three-year direction. You design a productized flagship offer for a segment that pays, at the center of a value ladder. You calculate margin, customer acquisition cost and customer lifetime value, and you test your prices. You build recurring revenue and reduce churn. You validate a digital product that is decoupled from your time through pre-orders, sold via Wave, Orange Money or card, in line with data protection rules (CDP in Senegal, ARTCI in Côte d'Ivoire). You set up a multichannel acquisition system: content, Google search and AI assistant answers, LinkedIn, referral partners and events. You sell to key accounts, donors and public buyers (ARCOP, ANRMP), and you invoice foreign clients in line with BCEAO foreign exchange regulations. You choose your OHADA legal form, organize the arrival of partners and prepare a financing application. Finally, you design your organization, delegate by objectives and write your 24-month growth plan. Ten modules, 42 lessons, a PDF handout and a quiz for each module, and ten graded projects, one per module, that come together in a final project: your company's 24-month growth plan, presented on video. The examples are fictional companies in Dakar, Thiès, Abidjan, Bamako and Cotonou, with amounts in FCFA. Position in the Freelance and digital entrepreneurship track: this level 5 is the last one. It follows "Growing your agency: processes, subcontracting and hiring" (level 4). The financing schemes, thresholds and formalities mentioned are those published in September 2026; no financial result is guaranteed.

Who it is for: Founders of digital agencies and studios, experienced consultants and freelancers, and digital entrepreneurs in Dakar, Thiès, Saint-Louis, Abidjan, Bamako, Cotonou and the diaspora who already run a working business and want to turn it into a profitable company that depends less on their own time and is able to grow.

Curriculum

A module-by-module path: lessons, exercises, quizzes and projects to submit.

  1. Module 1· 12 exercises

    Business model diagnosis and a three-year direction

    Read your business through its numbers, map your business model on one page and choose a three-year direction that states what you are really building.

    • Reading your business in numbers: sales by offer, margin, client concentration, recurring shareFree preview20 min
    • The one-page business model: segments, value proposition, channels, revenue, costsFree preview20 min
    • Three possible paths: founder-led business, agency, product company, and what each one requiresFree preview18 min
    • Setting a quantified three-year direction and deriving the year's three prioritiesFree preview18 min
    • Module handout (PDF)Free preview5 min
    • Quiz: diagnosis and directionModule quiz
    • Your business diagnosis and your three-year directionProject to submit

  2. Module 2· 12 exercises

    Designing a profitable flagship offer

    Identify the costly problem of a segment that can pay and turn it into an offer with a fixed scope, price and timeline, placed at the center of a value ladder.

    • Finding the costly problem of a segment that pays: clinics, private schools, real estate, hospitality, NGOs, diaspora20 min
    • Productizing a service: fixed scope, fixed price, fixed timeline, named method20 min
    • The value ladder: entry offer, flagship, recurring, premium, and the client's path from one to the next18 min
    • Positioning at the top of the market: proof, a well-framed guarantee, specialization, and the matching price18 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: flagship offerModule quiz
    • Your productized flagship offer and your value ladderProject to submit

  3. Module 3· 15 exercises

    Unit economics: margin, acquisition cost and customer value

    Calculate what a client costs you and what they bring in over their lifetime, and test your prices to know which offers deserve a push.

    • Gross margin by offer: direct costs, valued time, subcontracting, payment fees18 min
    • Customer acquisition cost by channel: advertising, prospecting, referral partners, content18 min
    • Customer lifetime value and the LTV to acquisition cost ratio: what a recurring client is really worth18 min
    • Testing a price increase without losing clients: method, message, reading the results15 min
    • The Google Sheets simulation model: three scenarios and their assumptions18 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: unit economicsModule quiz
    • Your unit economics model in three scenariosProject to submit

  4. Module 4· 12 exercises

    Building recurring revenue

    Turn one-off projects into subscriptions, maintenance contracts and framework agreements, and reduce the number of clients who leave.

    • Forms of recurring revenue in digital services: subscription, maintenance plan, framework agreement, hosting18 min
    • Designing a subscription that renews: monthly content, report, quarterly review, commitment18 min
    • Moving one-off clients to recurring: the right moment and the right proposal15 min
    • Measuring and reducing churn: warning signs, renewal meeting, termination clause18 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: recurring revenueModule quiz
    • Your recurring offer and your churn reduction planProject to submit

  5. Module 5· 12 exercises

    Digital products and revenue decoupled from your time

    Choose, validate through pre-orders, sell and collect payment for a digital product (course, templates, tool) that earns money without selling one more hour.

    • Which digital product to build from your expertise: course, templates, tool, license, and what each one earns18 min
    • Validating before building: pre-order page, 20 buyers, launch price18 min
    • Selling and collecting payment online: Wave, Orange Money, bank card, terms of sale and personal data (CDP, ARTCI)20 min
    • Launching and keeping it alive: waiting list, 10-day launch, updates, bundles15 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: digital productsModule quiz
    • Your digital product validated through pre-ordersProject to submit

  6. Module 6· 12 exercises

    An acquisition system that runs without you

    Combine content, Google search and AI assistant answers, the founder's network and partners to receive inquiries every week, and measure each channel.

    • Content, Google SEO and AI assistant answers: getting cited for "best X in Dakar 2026"20 min
    • The founder's LinkedIn: one editorial line, three posts a week, conversations that become meetings18 min
    • Partners and referral agents: finding them, paying commissions, tracking, and the contract that frames them18 min
    • Events, workshops and webinars: filling a room in Dakar or a video call with the diaspora, and converting15 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: acquisition systemModule quiz
    • Your multichannel acquisition systemProject to submit

  7. Module 7· 14 exercises

    Key accounts, public tenders and international clients

    Sell to organizations where several people decide, respond to public tenders and donor calls, and invoice foreign clients in line with foreign exchange regulations.

    • The key account sales cycle: buyer, user, decision-maker, legal counsel, and the stakeholder map18 min
    • Public tenders and donors: ARCOP in Senegal, ANRMP in Côte d'Ivoire, NGO tenders, bid files and certificates20 min
    • Diaspora and foreign clients: contracts in euros or dollars, pricing, payment guarantees18 min
    • WAEMU foreign exchange rules and repatriating funds: what the BCEAO says and what your bank asks for15 min
    • Documents that reassure a key account: tax and social security certificates, references, insurance, data compliance15 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: key accounts and internationalModule quiz
    • Your key account or tender fileProject to submit

  8. Module 8· 12 exercises

    Structuring and financing the company

    Choose the legal form, organize the arrival of partners and finance growth through self-financing, public schemes, bank loans or investors.

    • SARL, SAS or SUARL in the OHADA zone: governance, liability, cost, and the right choice for your project18 min
    • Partners and the shareholders' agreement: equity split, contributions, vesting, exit18 min
    • Non-dilutive financing: self-financing, DER/FJ, FONGIP, ADEPME, banks in Senegal, Ivorian schemes for young people and SMEs20 min
    • Business angels and investors: when it makes sense, what they look at, and the financing application18 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: structuring and financingModule quiz
    • Your legal structure and your financing applicationProject to submit

  9. Module 9· 12 exercises

    Organization, leadership and delegation

    Design the target organization, hire a right-hand person, lead by objectives and take the founder out of day-to-day operations without losing quality.

    • The org chart at 12 and 24 months: functions, owners, what the founder keeps15 min
    • Hiring a right-hand person or a head of production: profile, pay, probation period18 min
    • Leading with quarterly objectives: three objectives, measurable key results, a monthly review18 min
    • Stepping out of operations: the leader's calendar, delegated decisions, the reports that come back up15 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: organization and leadershipModule quiz
    • Your target organization and your management systemProject to submit

  10. Module 10· 11 exercises

    Steering and growing the company over 24 months

    Keep a management dashboard, anticipate risks, choose a new market and write the 24-month growth plan.

    • The management dashboard in 12 indicators, reviewed every month in one hour18 min
    • Mapping risks: client dependence, exchange rates, loss of a key team member, cash flow, and how to counter each18 min
    • Opening a new market: Abidjan, Bamako, Cotonou or the diaspora, a low-budget test and decision criteria18 min
    • Writing the 24-month growth plan: figures, milestones, financing, organization20 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: steering and growthModule quiz
    • Final project: the 24-month growth plan for your digital companyCapstone

  11. Certificate included

Your certificate at the end

A numbered certificate with your validated skills, a public page and a verification QR code. Add it to LinkedIn in one click.

Kolonell Academy
Verified by Kolonell Academy

Certificate of skills

Your name

has completed and validated the course

Digital entrepreneur: building a profitable offer and growing it

Certified skills

  • Designing and managing a business model built on services and digital products
  • Analyzing unit economics: margin, acquisition cost, customer lifetime value, churn
  • Building a multichannel B2B acquisition system and a referral partner program
  • Responding to public, donor-funded and corporate tenders, including international ones
  • Structuring an OHADA company legally and preparing a financing application
  • Leading an organization by objectives and building a 24-month growth plan

Number KOL-CERT-2026-XXXXX

Mohamed Bah

Founder, Kolonell Academy

Poster for Digital entrepreneur: building a profitable offer and growing it

Course poster

Download the poster to print it, send it to your employer or share it with colleagues. The full programme details every module.

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This course is part of the track

Freelance et entrepreneuriat digital

Level 5 of 5 · Pro Track

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  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
See the 5 track levels

The top of the track

This level completes the track. To take all 5 levels, the full track costs 350,000 FCFA instead of 450,000 FCFA.

Ask for the full track

Your instructor

Mohamed Bah

Founder of Kolonell, a digital agency in Dakar. He sells and delivers websites, content and applications to SMEs in Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and Dubai, manages a team of freelance writers, designers and developers whom he recruits, subcontracts and pays, and handles his company's invoicing, cash flow and tax filings himself.

Questions about this course

Who is this level 5 course for?

For people who already run a working business: experienced freelancers, founders of studios or agencies, consultants. If you are looking for your first clients, start with level 1; if you first want to organize a team, start with level 4.

How much time should I plan for?

About 40 hours, including exercises and the ten projects, which means 4 to 5 hours a week over 8 to 10 weeks. The projects use your own figures, so the time you spend goes straight into your business.

Do I need to want to raise funds?

No. Module 8 compares every source, starting with self-financing and non-dilutive schemes. Many service businesses never need investors; the course helps you decide.

Are the financing schemes mentioned guaranteed?

No. DER/FJ, FONGIP, ADEPME, banks and Ivorian schemes each have their own conditions and decide case by case. The course gives the conditions published in September 2026 (DER/FJ: 100,000 to 2 million FCFA, about $170 to $3,300, at 5%; FONGIP: guarantee of up to 80% of the loan) and teaches you to prepare a solid application.

Does the course cover clients abroad?

Yes. Module 7 covers diaspora and foreign clients: contracts in foreign currencies, payment guarantees, WAEMU foreign exchange regulations and the supporting documents to keep. Module 10 deals with opening a new African market.

What do I present at the end?

A 15 to 20 page, 24-month growth plan with its spreadsheet and a 10-minute video presentation, built from the nine previous projects. It is a document you can use with a partner, a banker or your team.

How do I pay?

Via Wave or Orange Money. After enrolling you receive a pro forma invoice by email with the number to pay. Send the proof on WhatsApp: your access is activated within 24 business hours.

How long do I keep access?

For life, updates included. Learn at your own pace and revisit lessons as often as you need.

How do I get the certificate?

Complete the lessons and pass each module quiz with at least 70%. The certificate is generated automatically, with a unique number and a public verification page.

Our commitments

  • Lifetime access, updates included
  • Publicly verifiable certificate
  • Wave / Orange Money payment, activation within 24 business hours
  • WhatsApp support

200,000 FCFA · 305 €

Pro Track