By Mohamed Bah · Kolonell, a digital agency in Dakar
One offer, one rate, 10 prospects, and your first client paid through Wave within 30 days
25,000 FCFA · 38 €
Programme
Wave / Orange Money payment, access within 24 business hours
A beginner freelancer in Dakar commonly charges 25,000 to 75,000 FCFA (about $40 to $125) for a simple project (a set of social media posts, a campaign visual, one website page, a short translation). Three to five projects a month bring in an extra 100,000 to 300,000 FCFA (about $165 to $500), depending on the skill and the time available (rates charged in Dakar in September 2026; no income is guaranteed).
Indicative estimate, depending on your market, pace and work. No income is guaranteed.
Your instructor
Founder of Kolonell, a digital agency in Dakar. He sells and delivers websites, content and applications to small businesses in Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and Dubai, and works every day with freelance writers, designers and community managers whom he recruits and pays.
See Kolonell’s work →No. Module 1 has you produce, in two hours, a real sample of your work (for example 3 posts for a shop in your neighborhood) that serves as proof in your first messages. Your first clients then replace that sample with real references.
About 1 hour of lessons and 2 to 3 hours of action (prospecting, conversations, delivery) for 4 weeks. The plan is designed to fit around a job or studies, in the evenings and on weekends.
Not for your first projects: many small businesses pay a freelancer against a simple invoice and a Wave or Orange Money transfer. Module 4 explains at what volume, and for which clients (established companies, NGOs, public bodies), it becomes worthwhile to get a NINEA (Senegal's national tax ID) or, in Côte d'Ivoire, the entreprenant status (a simplified sole-trader status).
Copywriting, community management, Canva design, video editing, simple websites, data entry and virtual assistance, translation. The method (offer, rate, prospecting, quote, payment, review) is the same for all of them; the worked examples cover each one.
A beginner freelancer commonly charges 25,000 to 75,000 FCFA (about $40 to $125) for a simple project in Dakar or Abidjan. The goal of the course is 1 to 3 first clients in 30 days. The result depends on how many prospects you actually contact: learners who send fewer than 20 messages rarely sign anyone within the month.
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.
For life, updates included. Learn at your own pace and revisit lessons as often as you need.
Complete the lessons, pass each module quiz with at least 70% and submit your final project: an instructor reviews and approves it (feedback within 5 working days). The certificate is then generated, with a unique number and a public verification page.
You can write, run an Instagram page, design on Canva, edit video, build a simple website or translate. Small businesses pay for that, but you don't know where to find them or what to charge. This course gives you a 30-day plan to sign your first 1 to 3 clients and get paid through Wave or Orange Money, alongside your studies or your job.
In week one, you pick a precise offer and work out a rate that covers your time, payment fees and a tax reserve. Then you build a list of 10 real prospects and reach out on WhatsApp and LinkedIn. You finish with the quote, the deposit, the delivery, the invoice and the client review that opens the door to your next client.
In all: 6 hours of training, 4 modules, 37 corrected exercises applied to your own offer, plus a PDF handout and a quiz for each module. Two graded projects mark the way: your list of 10 prospects with your first messages sent, then your first-client file. A verifiable certificate rounds it off.
You leave with your offer written in one sentence with 3 packages, your rate card, your qualified prospects, your outreach scripts, your quote and invoice templates, and your dashboard. In Dakar, a beginner freelancer commonly charges 25,000 to 75,000 FCFA (about $40 to $125) for a simple project; three to five projects a month bring in an extra 100,000 to 300,000 FCFA (about $165 to $500), depending on the skill and the time available (rates charged in September 2026). No income is guaranteed: it all comes down to how many prospects you actually contact.
This is level 1 of the Freelance and digital entrepreneurship track, where it all starts. Once your first clients are signed, level 2, "Selling your services: offer, quote and negotiation", teaches you to charge more and close more often.
Who it is for: Recent graduates, students and employees who want extra income by selling a digital skill (copywriting, community management, Canva design, video editing, simple websites, data entry and virtual assistance, translation) to small businesses in Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and the diaspora.
A module-by-module path: lessons, exercises, quizzes and projects to submit.
Module 1· 10 exercises
Decide which skill you sell, to what kind of small business, in what form and at what price, with a calculation that covers your time and your costs.
Module 2· 9 exercises
Build a list of 10 small businesses that need you, message them on WhatsApp or LinkedIn and land a 20-minute conversation.
Module 3· 9 exercises
Write a one-page quote that gets signed, collect a deposit through Wave or Orange Money, invoice correctly and deliver within the agreed scope.
Module 4· 9 exercises
Track your numbers over 30 days, turn a happy client into a public review and a referral, then decide what comes next: rate, legal status, pace.
Certificate included
A numbered certificate with your validated skills, a public page and a verification QR code. Add it to LinkedIn in one click.
Certificate of skills
Your name
has completed and validated the course
Digital freelancing: land your first clients in 30 days
Skills developed
Number KOL-CERT-2026-XXXXX
Mohamed Bah
Founder, Kolonell Academy
After the course
Each certificate has a number anyone can verify online, and you can add it to your LinkedIn profile in one click.
Upload your CV from your profile: our team reviews it and helps you make it clearer and more convincing.
Learners who complete the course can join the Kolonell talent pool. Entry is earned: course completed, exercises submitted. Kolonell also draws on it for its own hiring.
Optional services, free for learners. This is not a promise of employment.
Download the poster to print it, send it to your employer or share it with colleagues. The full programme details every module.
This course is part of the track
Level 1 of 5 · Essential
See the 5 track levelsNext level · 2/5 Practical
A working system in your business
A three-tier offer, a proposal that gets signed and discounts that always come with something in return
50,000 FCFA 10 h
View the next level