Prisons in Senegal have started trading online. “Yes WeSell”, a platform created for prisoners and through which they can sell any product they manufacture such as art creation, artisanal products or house furniture.

The “Yes WeSell” platform was created on January 1, 2016 and is “solely dedicated to the sales of prisoners-made products” according to its founder, Moctar Cissé. The website currently offers paintings which cost between 35,000 FCFA and 80,000 FCFA with discounts.

The idea for the platform was developed over 12 months with local associations. The main goal here was to find a solution to the prisoners’ financial struggles.

Son of a prison guard, Moctar Cissé knows quite a lot about the prison environment. He therefore decided to put his IT skills to use by creating an innovating service but this is not his first realization. Indeed, he developed the Jottaliko application which was finalist at the 2015 Entrepreneurship World Summit which was held in Nairobi in 2015. This app also came in the final of the second edition of the competition organized by the Institut international d’ingénierie de l’eau et de l’environnement in Burkina faso. It was awarded the “Coup de cœur du jury” prize.