Pro TrackEntrepreneurshipAdvanced Version française

Running an e-commerce business: margins, acquisition and team

Your 12-month e-commerce growth plan, costed in three scenarios and ready to present to a partner or a bank

  • 40 h of training
  • 10 modules · 50 lessons
  • 119 exercises
  • 10 projects
  • Certificate included

What you will be able to do

  • Manage the profitability of an e-commerce business through unit economics
  • Define a pricing and promotions policy that protects margins
  • Allocate and manage a multichannel acquisition budget by cost per delivered order
  • Optimize sales funnel conversion through measurement and A/B testing
  • Build an income statement, a cash flow plan and a scenario-based forecast
  • Recruit, organize and lead an e-commerce team and its service providers

What you will produce

  • The strategic review of the business, its three priorities and its quarterly targets
  • The unit economics model and the break-even point of the business
  • The price grid, three basket offers and the 12-month promotional calendar
  • The paid acquisition plan with its testing protocol, and the organic acquisition and retention plan
  • The measured funnel and two documented A/B tests
  • The decision memos on logistics, marketplaces and a second city
  • The income statement, the cash flow plan and the financing plan
  • The target org chart, a job description with a practical test, and the 12-month growth plan with its presentation

Possible earnings

An e-commerce lead at an SME or brand in Dakar or Abidjan typically earns 400,000 to 900,000 FCFA (about $670 to $1,500) a month depending on the size of the business; a consultant who supports growing brands charges 250,000 to 750,000 FCFA (about $420 to $1,250) per review and planning engagement (ranges observed in Dakar and Abidjan in 2026). For a founder, what is at stake is margin: gaining a few points of contribution margin on 5,000 orders a year is worth several million FCFA.

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

Tools used

  • Google Sheets
  • Looker Studio
  • Google Analytics 4
  • Meta Ads Manager
  • TikTok Ads Manager
  • Google Ads
  • Shopify
  • WooCommerce
  • WhatsApp Business
  • Brevo
  • Wave
  • Orange Money

What you'll learn

  • Carry out a strategic review of an e-commerce business and set three priorities with their quarterly targets
  • Calculate the contribution margin per delivered order, the acquisition cost by channel, customer lifetime value and the break-even point
  • Build a pricing policy, offers and a promotional calendar that protect your margin
  • Manage a paid and organic acquisition budget by cost per delivered order, with written tests and stop thresholds
  • Measure the sales funnel, remove barriers to purchase and make decisions based on A/B tests
  • Make operational and financing decisions using the income statement, the cash flow plan and scenarios
  • Organize the team and service providers, and present a 12-month growth plan

Prerequisites

  • Have completed "E-commerce manager: inventory, logistics and customer service" (level 4) or run a business that has been selling online for at least 6 months
  • Have access to a business's figures (sales, expenses, advertising) or agree to work on the running case provided
  • Be comfortable with Google Sheets: formulas, simple pivot tables and charts

About this course

Your e-commerce business sells every day. But you do not know exactly how much you earn per delivered order, advertising costs more every month, cash gets tight before every holiday season and everything still depends on you. This level trains you for what comes after a store that works: leading a profitable e-commerce business. You carry out a strategic review of the business and choose three priorities. You build the unit economics: contribution margin per delivered order, customer acquisition cost by channel, customer lifetime value, break-even point. You rework prices, offers and the promotional calendar around a margin rule. You manage paid acquisition on Meta, TikTok and Google by cost per delivered order, and organic acquisition through your customer list, search, influencers and referrals. You measure the funnel and test what removes barriers to purchase. You make the operational calls: outsourced logistics, marketplaces, a second city. You keep the income statement and the cash flow plan, and you finance growth. You recruit, delegate and manage your service providers. Finally, you write the 12-month growth plan. Ten modules, 40 lessons, an exercise after every lesson, a PDF handout and a quiz for each module, and a graded project for each module. The running case is a fictional wax-print fashion brand in Dakar that is opening in Abidjan; every project also applies to your own business. Amounts in FCFA, 2026 figures. This is level 5, the last level of the E-commerce and online selling track, after "E-commerce manager: inventory, logistics and customer service" (level 4).

Who it is for: Founders and managers of online stores that already make regular sales, e-commerce leads at SMEs and brands, e-commerce managers aiming for a leadership role, and consultants who support brands in Dakar, Abidjan, Bamako, Cotonou or in the diaspora.

Curriculum

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

  1. Module 1· 12 exercises

    Business review and strategy

    Read the business in numbers, position it against the competition and choose three priorities with quarterly targets.

    • Reading your business in numbers: revenue, margin, customers and channels over 6 monthsFree preview20 min
    • Positioning against marketplaces, Instagram stores and physical retailFree preview20 min
    • Choosing your priorities: the three-priority rule and what you turn downFree preview20 min
    • Setting quantified quarterly targets, one metric per priorityFree preview20 min
    • Module handout (PDF)Free preview5 min
    • Quiz: business review and strategyModule quiz
    • Strategic review and quarterly targetsProject to submit

  2. Module 2· 12 exercises

    Unit economics: what an order really earns you

    Know what a delivered order earns, what a customer costs by channel, what they bring in over 12 months and how many orders you need to cover your fixed costs.

    • Contribution margin per delivered order: every cost that goes out with an order20 min
    • Customer acquisition cost by channel: paid, organic, referral, physical store20 min
    • Customer lifetime value and repeat purchase rate20 min
    • Fixed costs, profitability threshold and monthly break-even point20 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: unit economicsModule quiz
    • Unit economics model and break-even pointProject to submit

  3. Module 3· 11 exercises

    Profitable pricing, offers and promotions

    Set prices that hold, raise the average order value and run promotions that earn more than they cost.

    • Pricing policy: product ranges, psychological pricing and honest strikethrough prices20 min
    • Gift sets, bundles and free delivery thresholds: raising the average order value20 min
    • The promotional calendar: Korité, Tabaski, Magal, back to school, Black Friday, year-end holidays20 min
    • Measuring a promotion: truly incremental sales and lost margin20 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: pricing and promotionsModule quiz
    • Price grid, offers and promotional calendarProject to submit

  4. Module 4· 12 exercises

    Paid acquisition: budget, testing and profitability

    Set the advertising budget from your margin, choose your channels, test methodically and judge results by cost per delivered order.

    • Setting the acquisition budget from your margin and target acquisition cost20 min
    • Meta, TikTok and Google: which channel for which product and which customer20 min
    • The creative testing protocol: three angles, seven days, stop and scale thresholds20 min
    • Judging ad profitability by cost per delivered order, not per click20 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: paid acquisitionModule quiz
    • Paid acquisition plan and testing protocolProject to submit

  5. Module 5· 12 exercises

    Organic acquisition, customer list and retention

    Bring customers in and bring them back without paying for every contact: a segmented customer list, lasting content, partners and referrals.

    • The customer list: cleaning, segmenting and complying with Law 2008-1220 min
    • Search and content that keeps selling: "product + city" and 2026 rankings20 min
    • Influencers and partnerships: micro-influencers, compensation, tracking codes20 min
    • Loyalty and referral programs: cost and effect on repeat purchases20 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: organic acquisition and retentionModule quiz
    • Organic acquisition and retention planProject to submit

  6. Module 6· 12 exercises

    Conversion and the buying experience

    Measure the funnel, remove the barriers to purchase specific to West Africa and make decisions through testing.

    • Measuring the funnel: visits, product views, carts, orders, delivered orders20 min
    • Barriers to purchase in West Africa: trust, fees, payment, lead times, sizing20 min
    • Simple A/B tests on the store and in WhatsApp messages20 min
    • Customer service as a margin lever: response times, refusals, returns and reviews20 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: conversion and the buying experienceModule quiz
    • Measured sales funnel and two A/B testsProject to submit

  7. Module 7· 12 exercises

    Operations at scale: logistics, marketplaces and new cities

    Decide, figures in hand, between in-house and outsourced logistics, selling on a marketplace and opening a second city.

    • In-house or outsourced logistics: comparing cost per order by volume20 min
    • Selling on a marketplace: commissions, remaining margin and brand risks20 min
    • Opening a second city: Abidjan, Bamako, Thiès or the diaspora20 min
    • Purchasing and inventory at scale: forecasting, negotiation and tied-up cash20 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: operations at scaleModule quiz
    • Decision memos: logistics, marketplace and a second cityProject to submit

  8. Module 8· 12 exercises

    Finance, cash flow and legal framework

    Keep the income statement and cash flow under control, finance inventory and growth, and stay compliant.

    • The simplified monthly income statement of an e-commerce business20 min
    • Cash flow and working capital: inventory, cash on delivery and payout delays20 min
    • Financing growth: pre-orders, supplier credit, microfinance, banks and public programs20 min
    • Legal and tax framework: legal structure, NINEA, RCCM, 18% VAT, invoices and CDP20 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: finance and cash flowModule quiz
    • Income statement, cash flow and financing planProject to submit

  9. Module 9· 12 exercises

    Recruiting, organizing and leading the team

    Move from a business that depends on you to an organized team, with well-managed service providers.

    • The org chart in stages: from 1 to 10 people20 min
    • Recruiting: job description, practical test, probation period and variable pay20 min
    • Routines, written processes and delegation: deciding without doing everything20 min
    • Managing service providers: agency, couriers, photographer, community manager20 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: team and service providersModule quiz
    • Target organization, recruitment and routinesProject to submit

  10. Module 10· 12 exercises

    The 12-month growth plan

    Bring together the decisions made throughout the course into a management dashboard, a scenario-based forecast and an action plan ready to present.

    • The management dashboard: 12 indicators and their owners20 min
    • The 12-month forecast in three scenarios20 min
    • The quarterly action plan and decision thresholds20 min
    • Presenting the plan to a partner, an investor or a bank20 min
    • Module handout (PDF)5 min
    • Quiz: growth planModule quiz
    • Final project: the 12-month growth plan for your businessCapstone

  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

Running an e-commerce business: margins, acquisition and team

Certified skills

  • Manage the profitability of an e-commerce business through unit economics
  • Define a pricing and promotions policy that protects margins
  • Allocate and manage a multichannel acquisition budget by cost per delivered order
  • Optimize sales funnel conversion through measurement and A/B testing
  • Build an income statement, a cash flow plan and a scenario-based forecast
  • Recruit, organize and lead an e-commerce team and its service providers

Number KOL-CERT-2026-XXXXX

Mohamed Bah

Founder, Kolonell Academy

Poster for Running an e-commerce business: margins, acquisition and team

Course poster

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

Download PNGDownload PDFFull programme (PDF)

This course is part of the track

E-commerce et vente en ligne

Level 5 of 5 · Pro Track

  1. 1
  2. 2
  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 designs online stores, websites and business applications for small and medium businesses in Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and Dubai, and supports retailers moving from over-the-counter sales to selling online.

Questions about this course

Is this level right for me if I am just starting out?

No. It assumes a business that is already selling or the experience of level 4. If you are just starting, begin with "Selling on WhatsApp" (level 1) or "E-commerce: selling online in Senegal and French-speaking Africa" (level 2).

Do I need to be comfortable with finance?

You need to know how to use Google Sheets. Contribution margin, break-even point, working capital requirement and forecasting are explained step by step, with templates provided in the PDFs and amounts in FCFA.

Can I work on my own business instead of the running case?

It is recommended. Every project applies to your business. The running case serves as an example and as a fallback if you do not have access to real figures.

How much time should I plan for?

About 40 hours over 8 to 10 weeks, or 4 to 5 hours a week. Module projects take 1.5 hours each, and the final project about 6 hours.

Do my figures stay confidential?

Your submissions are read only by the reviewer. You can also round your figures or multiply them by a coefficient, as long as you keep the proportions: it is consistency that is graded.

Does the course cover fundraising?

It covers financing the growth of an e-commerce business: self-financing, pre-orders, supplier credit, microfinance, banks and public programs. The final project prepares a presentation for a partner, an investor or a bank, without promising any financing.

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