Terms of Service

This agreement is between you and Bhota Africa Group (Pty) Ltd. It governs your use of our app or evidence records and the service we provide.

Bhota Africa helps enterprises turn real trade into an evidence record they keep, and introduces them to buyers, programmes and institutions. We:

• record the evidence you choose to share, with its source and date;
• show how far each item has been checked, using four levels:
  • Self-declared: you tell us.
  • Document supplied: you give us a document.
  • Independently verified: a reviewer confirms the item with an independent source.
  • Verified via authority: a reviewer checks the item against an official record, such as CIPC or SARS.

  You can add items at the first two levels yourself. The top two levels always need a reviewer's sign-off;

• introduce you, with your consent, to a buyer or institution for a specific opportunity. A person decides on and makes every introduction; and
• confirm what happened afterwards with each side separately.

An evidence record is not a score, rating, ranking, grade or certification of a business, and we never produce one. It is not a credit rating, an audit, legal advice or financial advice. It does not guarantee any order, contract or funding.

Bhota Africa is not a lender, a payment provider or a party to any sale. We do not negotiate for either side, commit anyone to terms, or hold, receive or transfer money for a sale. Buyers, institutions and funders make their own decisions and remain responsible for their own due diligence.

You agree to:

• provide accurate information and update it when it changes;
• not use Bhota Africa for anything unlawful or harmful;
• not try to access, copy or disrupt our systems or anyone else's data;
• not upload material that infringes anyone else's rights;
• keep your account details secure and tell us straight away if someone else uses them;
• use evidence records only in ways that are honest and lawful, and with the permission of the person or enterprise the record belongs to.

Joining Bhota Africa is free for enterprises, and taking part in our field test costs nothing. On the app, the Free tier costs nothing. Paid tiers are optional and are billed through Paystack at the price shown before you pay.

For paid services, we will send you a written proposal or order form setting out what we will do and what it costs.

Our fees are flat. We never charge a percentage of the value of any sale, order, contract or funding.

You own your information and evidence. We own our platform, our tools, and our IP. You may not copy, modify, or distribute them without permission. When you use Bhota Africa, you are giving us permission to use, store and process your information as this agreement and our Privacy Policy explain.

To the extent the law allows:

• we are not liable for any indirect loss (such as lost profit or lost business) even if we were told it might happen;
• we are not liable for anything outside our control (like your internet connection, a third-party platform, or events beyond our reasonable foresight);
• our total liability to you for any claim is limited to what you have paid us in the 12 months before the claim.

We are always liable for death or injury caused by our negligence, and for fraud.

We may suspend or close your account if:

• you break a material term of this agreement;
• you use Bhota Africa unlawfully or to harm others;
• you do not pay a bill on time.

If we close your account, we will tell you in writing and explain why. You may ask us in writing why your account was closed.

When your account closes, your evidence record stays yours, and you can request a copy of it.

This agreement is governed by the laws of South Africa. Any dispute will be dealt with in the courts of South Africa.