Terms of service

Last updated 23 October 2026

1. About these terms

These terms are an agreement between you and Kibanda ("Kibanda", "we", "us"), of Nairobi, Kenya. They apply when you use kibanda.africa, the Kibanda dashboard (app.kibanda.africa), the Kibanda API and developer tools (api.kibanda.africa), or order from a shop through Kibanda on WhatsApp. Our privacy policy explains how we handle personal data. By using Kibanda you agree to these terms; if you don't agree, don't use it.

2. For shoppers

• Who you're buying from. When you order through a shop's WhatsApp, your contract for the goods is with that shop, not with Kibanda. The shop is responsible for what it sells, its prices, availability, delivery, quality, returns and refunds.
• Prices and payment. The price, delivery fee and total are shown before you confirm. Payment terms are set by the shop: you may be offered M-Pesa, card or other methods, pay on delivery, or be asked to pay in full or a deposit before delivery.
• Cancelling. You can undo a pay-on-delivery order for a short time after placing it, and cancel an unpaid order before it's sent. Once an order is paid or on its way, ask the shop — refunds are the shop's decision, under its own policy and the law.
• Delivery. Share an accurate location and be reachable. Refusing a delivery without a good reason may lead a shop to ask you to pay before future deliveries.
• Problems with an order. Message the shop through the same WhatsApp chat. If you can't resolve it, contact us at hello@kibanda.africa and we'll help where we can.

3. For shops

Your account

• You must be at least 18 and able to enter a contract for your business. Give accurate information and keep your account and API keys secure; you're responsible for activity under them, including by your team and riders.
• You're the seller. You're responsible for your products and descriptions, prices, stock, taxes, licences, delivery, customer service, refunds and returns, and for following consumer protection, tax and other laws that apply to your business.

WhatsApp and Meta

Kibanda runs on the WhatsApp Business Platform. You must follow WhatsApp's Business Policy and Commerce Policy and Meta's terms. Only message customers who contacted you or agreed to hear from you, and don't send spam. Meta may charge for some messages, and may restrict a number for policy breaches; we aren't responsible for Meta's decisions.

Payments

• Payments are processed by third-party providers (such as Safaricom M-Pesa, Flutterwave and Paystack) under their own terms. Kibanda is not a bank or a payment service provider and does not hold customer funds.
• If you connect your own payment account, money goes from the customer to that account under your agreement with the provider. If you use the payment option Kibanda provides, the settlement terms shown in your dashboard or agreed with you apply.
• You set your own payment terms (pay on delivery, deposits, payment before delivery). Cash collected by riders is your responsibility.
• When a payment needs to be refunded (for example, paid twice or after a cancellation), Kibanda flags it; issuing the refund is your responsibility.

Fees

Any Kibanda fees are shown in your dashboard or agreed with you in writing before they apply. Payment providers and Meta charge their own fees. We'll give at least 30 days' notice before changing our fees.

What you can't sell or do

Don't use Kibanda to sell or promote anything illegal in Kenya or where you sell, or prohibited by WhatsApp's Commerce Policy — including drugs, weapons, counterfeit goods, adult content, live animals for illegal trade, or financial and medical products that need a licence you don't hold. Don't use Kibanda to defraud anyone, misrepresent your business, collect data you're not allowed to, or interfere with the service.

Your data and your customers' data

You own your shop's content and your customer relationships. For your customers' personal data, you are the data controller and Kibanda processes it on your behalf as described in our privacy policy; you must have a lawful basis to collect and use it and handle customers' requests under the Data Protection Act. You can export your data through the dashboard and API.

4. For developers (API, webhooks, MCP)

• Use the API only for the shop that issued the key, or on its behalf with its permission. Keep keys secret and server-side; revoke any that leak.
• Don't attempt to access data that isn't yours, overload the service, or work around limits. We may rate-limit or suspend keys to protect the service.
• We aim to keep the API stable and to add rather than remove fields. We'll give notice before breaking changes where we reasonably can.
• The developer documentation forms part of these terms for API use.
• If you connect AI assistants or agents, you're responsible for what they do with your account. Customers always confirm and pay in WhatsApp themselves.

5. Our service

• We work to keep Kibanda available, secure and accurate, but it's provided "as is" and may sometimes be unavailable or have errors. Some features depend on services we don't control, such as WhatsApp, M-Pesa and mapping providers.
• We may change or improve features. If we remove something you rely on in a significant way, we'll give reasonable notice.
• Kibanda, its software, design and trademarks belong to us. You may not copy, resell or reverse-engineer the service except as the law allows. WhatsApp is a trademark of Meta; M-Pesa is a trademark of Safaricom.

6. Suspension and ending

You can stop using Kibanda at any time, and shops can close their account by contacting us. We may suspend or end access if you break these terms or the law, put customers or the service at risk, or if WhatsApp or a payment provider requires it. Where reasonable we'll warn you first and give you a chance to fix the issue, and we'll let you export your data. Sections that by their nature should continue (such as liability and governing law) survive.

7. Liability

• We're not responsible for goods sold by shops, for shops' or riders' acts, or for services run by third parties (WhatsApp, payment providers, couriers).
• To the extent the law allows, we're not liable for indirect or consequential loss, lost profits or lost data, and our total liability to a shop for any claim is limited to the fees it paid us in the 12 months before the claim (or KES 10,000 if no fees were paid).
• Nothing in these terms limits liability that can't be limited by law, or your rights under the Consumer Protection Act, 2012.
• Shops agree to indemnify Kibanda against claims arising from their products, their dealings with customers, or their breach of these terms or the law.

8. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. We'll show the new date at the top and, for significant changes, tell shops at least 14 days in advance in the dashboard or by email. Continuing to use Kibanda after changes take effect means you accept them.

9. Law and disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of Kenya. If there's a dispute, contact us first at hello@kibanda.africa and we'll try to resolve it within 30 days. If we can't, the courts of Kenya sitting in Nairobi have jurisdiction.

10. Contact

Kibanda, Kenya — hello@kibanda.africa