Everything you need to know about using Garabaly for buying and selling livestock.
Garabaly is West Africa's trusted livestock marketplace. It's a mobile app that connects livestock sellers with buyers — and the diaspora with home — with built-in escrow protection and real negotiation for every transaction. You can browse cattle, sheep, goats, and poultry — all verified with photos, seller profiles, and health certificates.
Garabaly is launching in Mali first and expanding across the Sahel and West Africa. Mobile money payments are already live in Mali, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, and Cameroun. Card payments are accepted from anywhere in the world.
Garabaly is launching in Mali first and expanding across the Sahel and West Africa. Mobile money payments are available in Mali, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, and Cameroun. Card payments are accepted from anywhere in the world — so diaspora buyers in Paris, London, New York, Brussels, Montreal, and beyond can use Garabaly today.
Garabaly is completely free for buyers — no platform fees, no commissions, no hidden charges. The price you see is the price you pay. A small platform fee is charged to sellers and service providers upon successful transactions only.
Full interface in French, English, and Arabic with native right-to-left (RTL) layout support — Arabic isn't an afterthought, it's a first-class experience. Voice descriptions and reviews can be recorded in any language: Bambara, Mooré, Hausa, Fulfulde, Wolof, Songhai, and more. In West Africa, voice is how business gets done — sellers describe their livestock by speaking, buyers leave voice reviews, and everyone communicates in their own language. No typing required.
Garabaly is purpose-built for West African livestock trade. Unlike generic marketplaces, we have escrow protection on every transaction, a dedicated negotiation feature (because "add to cart" doesn't exist in a Sahelian market), veterinary health certificates, voice descriptions in local languages, and special support for the diaspora to buy livestock for family back home.
When you add items to your cart, the seller (and any service providers) must first confirm availability before you can checkout. This pre-checkout approval protects all parties. Once confirmed, you pay and your funds are held securely in escrow until delivery is complete.
Garabaly has a dedicated negotiation feature built in. You can chat directly with sellers, ask for more photos or videos, negotiate the price, and reach consensus — just like at a physical market. Once you and the seller agree on a price, you proceed to payment with escrow protection. We believe price is a conversation, not a label.
No. Garabaly is completely free for buyers. There are no platform fees, no commissions, and no hidden charges. The price you see is the price you pay. We only charge a small platform fee to sellers and service providers upon successful transactions.
Garabaly uses per-party staged escrow. Sellers and service providers pre-approve your order before you can checkout. When you tap "Buy with Escrow," your payment is held securely — one escrow hold, per-party allocation. After delivery, you confirm with your unique 6-character code. Service providers are paid immediately. The seller's share is held for a 24-hour buyer protection window — during which you can open a dispute if something is wrong. If there's a problem, all unreleased shares are frozen and Garabaly mediates with dual-admin approval.
You're protected. After delivery, you have a 24-hour inspection window to verify that the animal matches the listing — including photos, description, and health certificate. If something is wrong, open a dispute directly in the app. Garabaly's team reviews the evidence and mediates. If the dispute is resolved in your favor, you receive a full refund from escrow. Your money is never released until you're satisfied.
Absolutely! Garabaly is designed for the diaspora. Whether you're in Paris, London, New York, Washington DC, Brussels, Montreal, or anywhere else, you can browse livestock, negotiate with local sellers, pay with escrow protection, and have the animal delivered to your family's compound. It's perfect for Tabaski, weddings, naming ceremonies (baptêmes), funerals, or simply caring for your loved ones from afar.
Yes. Your family doesn't need to download Garabaly. You place the order, pay, and track delivery from wherever you are. The livestock is delivered directly to your family's compound. You can coordinate the delivery time so you're on a WhatsApp call when it arrives — many diaspora buyers do exactly that.
Garabaly supports multiple payment methods:
• Mobile Money (LIVE): Pay with Orange Money, Moov Money, Wave among several others. Available in Mali, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, and Cameroun.
• Card Payments (LIVE): 135+ currencies through Stripe — Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay. Pay in XOF, EUR, USD, GBP, CAD, NGN, GHS, and more.
• Garabaly Wallet (LIVE): Deposit via card or mobile money, instant wallet-to-wallet transfers.
• Bank Transfer: Coming soon.
Garabaly supports Orange Money, Moov Money, Wave among several other mobile money providers. Mobile money is available in Mali, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, and Cameroun. New providers and countries are being added regularly.
Once the livestock is delivered, you have a reasonable inspection period to verify that it matches the listing. The specific timeframe is shown in your escrow details within the app. If you don't confirm or dispute within the allotted period, the escrow is automatically released to the seller.
For Tabaski, we recommend ordering at least 2 weeks before Eid. For weddings and naming ceremonies, order as early as possible to secure the best livestock. Our verified sellers maintain inventory year-round — the livestock trade never stops. You can track your order in real-time and call your family on WhatsApp when it arrives.
Absolutely. Many diaspora buyers coordinate the delivery timing so they can be on a WhatsApp call when their family receives the livestock. Sellers' WhatsApp contact information is available in their profile. It's become one of the most emotional parts of using Garabaly — seeing your mother's joy from thousands of kilometers away.
To become a verified seller, download the app and create an account. Then complete the verification process by providing a valid ID and confirming your location. Verified sellers earn a badge on their profile, which builds trust with buyers and increases the visibility of your listings.
When the buyer enters the 6-character confirmation code, your payment enters a 24-hour buyer protection window. If no dispute is raised during that period, funds are automatically released to your Garabaly Wallet. Service providers (butchers, veterinarians, delivery drivers) are paid immediately upon task completion — the 24-hour window applies only to the seller's share. Once released, funds are available in your Garabaly Wallet. You can transfer to other users instantly. External withdrawals via Orange Money, Moov Money, Wave among several other mobile money providers. Bank transfer coming soon.
Your Garabaly Wallet supports deposits via card or mobile money, escrow releases, and instant wallet-to-wallet transfers to other users. Withdraw via Orange Money, Moov Money, Wave among several other mobile money providers. Bank transfer coming soon. All wallet operations require your secure PIN (set during onboarding). Your wallet uses auditable financial records and military-grade integrity verification to ensure every transaction is accurate.
Garabaly charges a small platform fee to sellers upon successful sale, and to service providers upon task completion. No upfront costs, no listing fees. Buyers always pay zero fees.
Yes, a health certificate is optional but highly recommended. Listings with verified health certificates get significantly more buyer interest and tend to sell faster. We encourage all sellers to work with local veterinarians to obtain certificates for their livestock.
Absolutely. All escrow funds are held in secure, regulated accounts — your payment is never mixed with Garabaly's operating funds. We use bank-grade encryption, industry-leading security standards for data integrity, and comprehensive monitoring. Your money is protected by architecture, not promises.
Every Garabaly order generates a unique 6-character alphanumeric confirmation code visible only to the buyer. When the livestock (or service) is delivered, the buyer enters this code directly in the app to confirm receipt and trigger the escrow release. The code is never shared with the seller or anyone else — only the buyer can enter it. This system prevents fraud and ensures both parties are protected.
Sellers and service providers pre-approve your order before you can checkout, so the order is already committed when you pay. After delivery, you have a 24-hour buyer protection window to open a dispute if something is wrong. If you don't confirm or dispute within that window, the seller's share is released automatically. This protection runs on our server-side scheduler — no action required from you unless you need to dispute.
If a buyer and seller can't agree, either party can open a dispute through the app. Garabaly's support team reviews the evidence (photos, messages, listing details, chat history). Disputes require dual-admin approval for resolution — meaning no single person can make a unilateral decision. During the dispute, funds remain in escrow. We aim to resolve all disputes quickly and fairly.
Your Garabaly wallet is protected by a private PIN that you set during onboarding. Your PIN is encrypted with industry-leading standards (never stored in plain text) and required for all sensitive operations like withdrawals. For additional security, we use SMS verification for high-value transactions, built-in fraud prevention to detect suspicious activity, and device verification to prevent unauthorized access.
You can report any listing or user directly in the app by tapping the report button. You can also reach our support team through the Contact page or via our social media channels. We take all reports seriously and investigate promptly. Our fraud detection system includes velocity limits and comprehensive event logging to maintain marketplace integrity.
Every transaction is protected by bank-grade encryption, military-grade integrity verification, encrypted confirmation codes, dispute mediation with manual approval, and built-in fraud prevention. This isn't a promise — it's our architecture.
Garabaly supports three types of service providers: delivery drivers for livestock transport, professional butchers for meat preparation, and veterinarians for health inspections and certificates. Each service provider is verified, rated, and reviewed by previous clients. All service providers are paid through the same escrow system, so everyone is protected.
Garabaly supports four order pathways. By default, all items in your cart are independent orders — each with its own order ID and confirmation code. You can also place Seller-Only orders (just livestock), Service-Only orders (just a butcher, vet, or delivery), or Multiparty Bundle orders (combine livestock and services into one order). In bundles, you drag-to-reorder the fulfillment sequence — full autonomy over which services come after the seller.
Every order has a real-time progress tracker visible in the app. You'll see each stage — from order placed, to seller confirmed, preparation, in transit, delivered, and completed. Push notifications and in-app alerts keep you updated at every stage. For multiparty orders, you'll see the progress of each party (seller, delivery, butcher) independently.
Yes! You can create a Service-Only order to book a butcher, delivery driver, or vet independently. This is useful if you've already purchased your livestock elsewhere but need a professional service. The service provider is still paid through Garabaly's escrow for your protection.
Garabaly supports 135+ currencies through Stripe, including West African CFA Franc (XOF), Central African CFA Franc (XAF), Nigerian Naira (NGN), Ghanaian Cedi (GHS), Euro (EUR), US Dollar (USD), British Pound (GBP), Canadian Dollar (CAD), and many more. Real-time exchange rates are applied automatically.
Yes! Garabaly's chat supports text messages, voice recordings, photos, and video. You can also share listing details directly in the chat. Voice messages are especially popular — they let sellers describe their livestock in any language and let buyers ask detailed questions naturally. Messages are delivered in real time with offline queuing so nothing gets lost.
Our team is here to help. Reach out and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.
