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 rural livestock sellers with urban 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 available across West Africa and is expanding rapidly through the Sahel region. We serve buyers and sellers in multiple countries, with plans to grow into Senegal, Burkina Faso, Niger, and more. The diaspora can use Garabaly from anywhere in the world — Paris, New York, Abidjan, and beyond.
Yes! Garabaly is completely free to download and use for both buyers and sellers. We charge a small service fee on completed transactions to maintain the escrow protection and platform operations.
The app interface is available in French, English, and Arabic (with full right-to-left layout support). Additionally, sellers can record voice descriptions and buyers can leave voice reviews in any language — Bambara, Fulfulde, Wolof, Songhai, Pulaar, and more. We're continuously adding new interface languages based on user demand.
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.
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.
Garabaly uses a five-stage escrow lifecycle. When you tap "Buy with Escrow," your payment is held securely by our platform — never sent directly to the seller. The seller has 24 hours to confirm the order (or you're automatically refunded). Once confirmed, you can track your order in real time through preparation, delivery, and receipt. Upon delivery, you share your unique 6-character confirmation code to release the funds. If there's a problem, you can open a dispute and your money stays protected until resolution.
If the livestock doesn't match the description, photos, or health certificate provided in the listing, you can open a dispute before confirming the transaction. Garabaly will mediate the situation. If the dispute is resolved in your favor, you'll receive a full refund from the escrow.
Absolutely! Garabaly is designed for the diaspora. Whether you're in Paris, New York, Abidjan, 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, celebrations, or simply caring for your loved ones from afar.
Garabaly supports 50+ currencies and multiple payment methods. In West Africa, pay via Orange Money, Wave, MTN MoMo, Moov Money, or Airtel Money. Diaspora buyers can use Visa, Mastercard, bank transfers, or international payment gateways in EUR, USD, GBP, CAD, and more — powered by Stripe for world-class security. When you tap "Buy with Escrow," you'll choose your preferred method and complete the transaction securely within the app.
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.
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.
Payment is released to your Garabaly wallet the instant the buyer shares their 6-character confirmation code — confirming receipt and satisfaction. The funds appear immediately in your wallet and are available for withdrawal to Orange Money, Wave, MTN MoMo, Moov Money, or bank transfer. No delays, no waiting periods.
From your Garabaly wallet, tap "Withdraw" and choose your preferred destination — Orange Money, Wave, MTN MoMo, Moov Money, Airtel Money, or bank transfer. Enter the amount, confirm with your secure wallet PIN (which you set up during onboarding), and the funds will be transferred. Your wallet uses double-entry bookkeeping and SHA-256 checksums to ensure every transaction is accurate.
Garabaly charges a small service fee on completed transactions. This fee covers the escrow protection, payment processing, and platform maintenance. The exact fee percentage is transparently displayed before you list and during every transaction. There are no hidden costs.
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 with atomic database transactions — your payment is never mixed with Garabaly's operating funds. We use bank-grade encryption, bcrypt-hashed PINs, SHA-256 checksums for data integrity, and comprehensive security event logging. Our payment architecture has passed a world-class security audit.
Every Garabaly order generates a unique 6-character alphanumeric confirmation code that's visible only to the buyer. When the livestock (or service) is delivered, the buyer shares this code with the seller or delivery driver. The code is entered in the app to cryptographically verify delivery and instantly release the escrow funds. This system prevents fraud and ensures both parties are protected.
Sellers have a 24-hour window to confirm your order after you pay with escrow. If the seller doesn't confirm within that window, the order is automatically cancelled and your full payment is returned to your wallet instantly. This automatic protection runs on our server-side scheduler — no action required from you.
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. The PIN is bcrypt-hashed (never stored in plain text) and required for all sensitive operations like withdrawals. For additional security, we use SMS OTP verification for high-value transactions, velocity limits to prevent rapid suspicious activity, and device fingerprinting to detect 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.
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 three order types: Seller-Only orders (just buying livestock from a seller), Service-Only orders (booking a butcher, delivery, or vet independently), and Combined multiparty orders (buying livestock and adding services like delivery and butchering in one transaction). In combined orders, service providers are activated sequentially — for example, the butcher is only activated after the livestock transaction is confirmed.
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 50+ currencies including West African CFA Franc (XOF), Central African CFA Franc (XAF), Nigerian Naira (NGN), Ghanaian Cedi (GHS), Kenyan Shilling (KES), Euro (EUR), US Dollar (USD), British Pound (GBP), Canadian Dollar (CAD), and many more. Real-time exchange rates are applied automatically, and all prices can be displayed in your preferred currency.
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 via our Socket.io infrastructure, 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.
