senegal’s corner shops go digital to track trade
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

Senegal’s corner shops go digital to track trade

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today Senegal’s corner shops go digital to track trade

Senegalese restaurant owner and Weebi user Marieme Assi Diagne
Dakar - Arab Today

Corner shops, markets and street traders are still the traditional way most Senegalese do their shopping, but micro-businesses are turning to digital means of tracking clients in the West African nation’s informal economy.
Amadou Bawol Bah, like many owners of the corner “boutiques” in Senegal, used to have a large ledger he filled in each day with purchases and credit offered to his customers.
“One day, I was filling in some details and some cooking oil tipped onto the ledger,” he recalled of the moment in 2015 that wiped out years of careful bookkeeping.
Bawol Bah’s disaster became the inspiration for a locally-designed app called “Weebi,” meaning “easy” in the local Pulaar language and the trader has not looked back since downloading it.
“Weebi simplifies sales and my invoices. The tablet and smartphone replaces the notebook and pen,” explained Weebi’s co-founder Cheikh Sene, who began his startup with two other Senegalese and a Frenchman. A micro-printer for receipts completes the mix, Sene added.
Around half of Senegal’s registered businesses are one-man traders like Bawol Bah, according to government statistics, and operate at thin margins with clients often reliant on credit paid back at the end of the month.
In the case of accidents like Bawol Bah’s, the app comes with confidential backup for each user, according to Weebi, so data remains safe in case of loss or damage to a device.
After winning a prize for digital innovation at the Africa-France summit held in Bamako in January, Weebi’s ambitions are growing in the capital.
Although just 40 users so far have the app, which is a standalone download or can be bought for 118,000 FCFA ($200) preloaded onto a tablet, 300 clients have shown an interest in the product in the Dakar area.
Marieme Assietou Diagne, who manages a health food delivery business, said she has gained “more free time and better sales” since using the software.
“It helps us to follow clients — who are the regulars, the number of orders and how many meals we are selling per day,” she told AFP. “We can reward loyal customers at the end of the month.”
Other small business owners have begun using “Somtou,” a console launched in May with an interface specifically designed for Senegal’s majority illiterate population that works with icons and voice commands.
The upstart costs of buying a laptop and the electricity required to run it all day are prohibitive for most and training in accountancy programs or software such as Microsoft Excel hard to come by without paying for classes. With sturdy casing and bright graphics, Somtou is aimed squarely at market traders and small businesses, said its Cameroonian creator Ted Boulou.
“It allows those in the informal sector to manage their work more effectively, and gives them more precise estimates of income, revenue and clients,” Boulou said.
That can empower them to better bargain wholesale costs and promotions, making businesses more effective, he added, while filing of tax returns and other government documents became simpler and more accurate.
Pricing is also flexible for clients without much upfront cash.
“Some will pay 13,000 FCFA ($22) per month for two years, or 500 FCFA (85 US cents) a day for two years,” Boulou explained, as the single payment of 275,000 FCFA was prohibitive for many — and he has taken 100 orders.

Source: Arab News

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

senegal’s corner shops go digital to track trade senegal’s corner shops go digital to track trade

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

senegal’s corner shops go digital to track trade senegal’s corner shops go digital to track trade

 



GMT 16:16 2014 Wednesday ,10 September

Samirah Ibrahim receives Saudi cultural attaché

GMT 09:32 2017 Sunday ,24 September

China confirms will limit oil exports to North Korea

GMT 19:56 2016 Saturday ,17 September

Typhoon Meranti death toll rises to 28

GMT 09:40 2018 Monday ,01 January

OIC Summit opens in Kazakhstan

GMT 06:37 2015 Monday ,07 December

Iran film directors protest colleague's jail term

GMT 18:37 2017 Friday ,25 August

Mental health issues should be prioritized

GMT 04:39 2017 Thursday ,31 August

Trump vows to right 'self-destructive' tax code

GMT 05:29 2017 Tuesday ,22 August

Celebrations across India on 71st Independence Day

GMT 10:54 2017 Wednesday ,11 October

Child obesity grows tenfold since 1975

GMT 02:31 2016 Tuesday ,06 December

Dubai Women Establishment delegation participates

GMT 04:29 2018 Wednesday ,19 September

North and South Korea: Kim and Moon hail new future

GMT 14:18 2013 Monday ,19 August

Newlywed Lebanese couple pose at car bomb site

GMT 11:11 2011 Friday ,12 August

Palestinian university ranks seventh in Arab world

GMT 15:16 2015 Wednesday ,26 August

UAE ambassador attends charity ceremony in Qalubiya

GMT 16:59 2016 Tuesday ,26 July

Hedge funds in new cycle of oil short-selling
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday