1. Jurisdiction and Legal Framework

• Operating Entity: The portal is operated by ProdAfrica Consulting & B2B Intelligence Hub, with its European marketing headquarters in Barcelona, Spain.
• Applicable Law: The agreement is strictly governed by the laws of Spain and is subject to exclusive Spanish jurisdiction.
• Data Protection: The platform claims adherence to European and Spanish regulations: the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), LOPDGDD, and LSSI-CE. Users must guarantee they possess a valid legal basis for any data they publish.

2. User Types and Subscription Models

• Individual Users: Are entitled to publish one (1) free listing.
• Agencies & Third Parties: Are strictly prohibited from using free accounts to manage listings for their clients. They must operate exclusively under paid plans. Creating fake (“ad hoc”) email addresses to bypass this rule will result in immediate deletion of the listing and account.
• Platform Self-Promotion (Ex Officio Addition): To promote African development, ProdAfrica may randomly add businesses to the directory for free, displaying all available information for a limited time. Afterward, these default to the standard “Free” mode. The legitimate owner may claim or delete the listing at any time.
• Verified Paid Plans: The “Verified” status indicates the level of data verification performed by ProdAfrica, as described in Section 2.2. Depending on the verification level, checks may be based on public sources, self-reported information, and/or documentation provided and reviewed by our team. Verification does not constitute a full audit of the company or a guarantee of its solvency, reputation, product or service quality, legal compliance, or future performance. Clients remain responsible for ensuring that the information they submit is authentic, lawful, and up to date.

2.2 Transparency and Scope of Data Verification

ProdAfrica is committed to transparency regarding the origin, verification status and scope of business information published on its platform.

The verification status displayed on a business listing indicates the type of checks performed by ProdAfrica:

• Premium — Public Info / Self-Declared: Verification based on public sources and self-reported information.
• Premium — Documentation Provided: Verification based on provided documentation, public sources and self-reported information. The documentation is reviewed by our team.
• Basic Listing: Basic data verification performed by our team.
• Free Listing: The information in this listing has not been verified by ProdAfrica.

Verification is limited to the scope of the checks described by the applicable status. It does not constitute a guarantee of a company’s solvency, reputation, operational capacity, product or service quality, legal compliance, or future performance. Although ProdAfrica takes reasonable steps to verify information within the stated scope, it cannot guarantee that all published information is complete, accurate or up to date at all times.

Verification does not constitute a financial, legal, technical or commercial audit of the listed business, nor does it guarantee the outcome of any transaction or business relationship.

Users are responsible for conducting their own due diligence before entering into commercial agreements, making payments or establishing business relationships with listed companies.

ProdAfrica encourages users to report inaccurate, outdated or misleading information so that it can be reviewed and, where appropriate, corrected or removed.

3. Strict Publishing Rules and Restrictions

• No Direct Sales in General Listings: Products or direct sales offers cannot be published in the general company profile (e.g., a farmer can state they grow coffee, but cannot post a specific price offer). Direct sales must go through designated premium sections.
• Contact Data Placement: It is strictly forbidden to include phone numbers, emails, web addresses, or other contact details in the title or business description. These must only be entered in their designated fields (which are typically gated behind paid plans).
• Events Section Integrity: Only official organizers may publish events. It is strictly prohibited to disguise a product or service as an event (e.g., a tour operator cannot list a guided tour as an event within a larger music festival).
• Sponsored Posts/Blogs: Clients are solely responsible for the content and image rights of sponsored articles or ads. ProdAfrica does not endorse or guarantee their accuracy.

4. Economic Conditions, Payments, and Renewals

• Currency & Methods: Prices are listed in US Dollars (USD). Accepted payments include PayPal, Stripe, and credit/debit cards.
• Event Ticketing: ProdAfrica takes a 10% commission on every event ticket sold through the platform.
• Automatic Renewal: Paid contracts automatically renew one month before expiration unless the client sends a formal cancellation email to team@prodafrica.com. If canceled, the listing drops to the restricted “Free” mode.
• Price Modifications: ProdAfrica reserves the right to change prices at any time, though they will respect the rates of already contracted active plans.

4.1 Taxes and Withholding

• All fees payable to ProdAfrica under these Terms are exclusive of any applicable taxes, duties, or governmental charges, including without limitation value-added tax, sales tax, and withholding tax (“Taxes”).
• If the Client is required by applicable law to withhold or deduct any Taxes from a payment due to ProdAfrica, the Client shall:
  • (a) make such withholding or deduction as required by law;
  • (b) pay the withheld amount to the relevant tax authority within the time allowed by law; and
  • (c) increase the payment to ProdAfrica so that, after such withholding or deduction, ProdAfrica receives the full amount it would have received had no such withholding or deduction been required.
• This clause applies to all invoiced payments, including but not limited to Enterprise, Agency Partner, and custom Premium arrangements. It does not apply to standard subscription payments processed via credit card or other automated payment methods.
• The Client shall provide ProdAfrica with official tax receipts or other evidence of any Taxes withheld, upon request, to support any applicable foreign tax credit claim.

5. Intellectual Property Rules

• Client Responsibility: The user guarantees they own or have the licenses for all text, graphics, and images uploaded.
• Recommended Licenses: ProdAfrica urges the use of royalty-free or Creative Commons (CC) / Wikipedia Commons images.
• Required CC Image Format: Recommended naming convention is: NAME_NUMBERPHOTO_PHOTO_BY_NAME_ORIGIN.
• Prohibited Actions (Anti-Scraping & Copyright):
  • Republishing, selling, renting, or sub-licensing ProdAfrica’s material.
  • Reproducing or exploiting the directory for commercial purposes.
  • Displaying material publicly without crediting ProdAfrica.
  • “Scraping” (accessing or tracking non-public parts of the website), which is explicitly labeled as a potential criminal offense.

5.1 User-Generated Content and Third-Party Materials

ProdAfrica Business Directory is a business intelligence and B2B connectivity platform that enables companies, organisations and users to publish business information and connect with international opportunities.

Regarding content uploaded by users, including text, images, logos and other materials, ProdAfrica acts as an intermediary platform. Users remain solely responsible for ensuring that they have the necessary rights, licences or permissions to publish such content.

ProdAfrica does not independently create, verify, or claim ownership of user-uploaded materials. Any review, restriction or removal of content following a valid notice of potential infringement is carried out as a measure of diligence and does not constitute an admission of liability.

 

6. Privacy and Communication Monitoring

• Enquiries and Service Communications: When a user submits an enquiry, contact form, or other communication through ProdAfrica, the information provided may be processed to respond to the enquiry, provide the requested service, manage the relevant business relationship, or address related administrative matters.
• Commercial Communications: Submitting an enquiry does not, by itself, constitute consent to receive promotional newsletters. ProdAfrica may send commercial communications where permitted by applicable law and, where required, on the basis of the user’s consent. Users may unsubscribe from promotional communications at any time.
• Platform Security and Abuse Prevention: ProdAfrica may access or review communications submitted through its platform where reasonably necessary to investigate suspected abuse, fraud, security incidents, unlawful activity, violations of these Terms, technical problems, or complaints concerning the use of the platform.
• Legal and Operational Requirements: ProdAfrica may process or disclose communications where reasonably necessary to comply with legal obligations, respond to lawful requests from competent authorities, protect the rights and security of ProdAfrica, its users or third parties, or establish, exercise or defend legal claims.No General Monitoring: ProdAfrica does not have a general obligation to monitor communications or user-generated content. Any review will be carried out only where reasonably necessary for the purposes described above or where required by applicable law.

7. Right of Refusal and Cancellation

ProdAfrica may reject, suspend, or cancel any listing without a refund in the following cases:

• By order of judicial/administrative authorities.
• For the use of material for which the rights are not available.
• If content is obscene, offensive, illegal, false, or damages the directory’s image.
• Anti-Sharing Rule: If multiple unrelated businesses try to share a single paid listing to split costs (e.g., a shopping mall listing all its internal stores, or an association listing all its members in one ad).
• Note: Free accounts can be deleted by the platform at any time without explanation.

8. Legal Disclaimer and Indemnity Clause

• Mere Intermediary: ProdAfrica acts exclusively as a host. They do not pre-screen, monitor, or validate content. All liability falls on the client.
• No Warranties: The platform does not guarantee continuous uptime, accuracy, or suitability of information, and excludes liability for indirect losses, data loss, or lost profits.
• Comprehensive Indemnification: If a user utilizes the platform for commercial purposes or on behalf of a business, the user/entity must indemnify and hold ProdAfrica harmless from any claims, lawsuits, legal fees, or damages (including negligence or copyright infringement) arising from their use of the platform.

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