Terms & Conditions

1. Introduction & acceptance

These Terms & Conditions ("Terms") govern your access to and use of Shoppa ("Shoppa", "we", "us", or "our"), a personal shopping and delivery marketplace operating in Kigali, Rwanda. By registering an account or using our services, you agree to be bound by these Terms. These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of Rwanda, and any disputes are subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of Kigali.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract to use Shoppa. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information when you register and to keep it up to date.

3. Account types & roles

Shoppa supports four types of accounts:

• Customer — places orders, tracks their status, and pays for goods and services.
• Shopper — reviews order invitations, quotes a shopping fee, purchases the requested items, and hands them off for delivery.
• Delivery Partner — picks up completed orders from a Shopper and delivers them to the Customer.
• Admin — Shoppa staff who review and approve accounts, manage orders, and oversee the platform.

4. Registration & identity verification

Shopper and Delivery Partner accounts must complete identity verification before they can accept orders. New accounts can sign in immediately but are limited to a verification screen until they submit the required documents (a national ID number and photos, a selfie, and — for motorcycle or car Delivery Partners — a driving permit and vehicle photo) and an admin approves them. Submitting false, altered, or fraudulent documents, or impersonating another person, is strictly prohibited and will result in rejection of your verification and may result in permanent suspension of your account.

5. How orders work

A typical order moves through the following stages:

1. A Customer submits an order describing what they need and where it should be delivered.
2. An admin reviews the order and invites one or more verified Shoppers to quote on it.
3. Invited Shoppers accept or decline the invitation; accepting allows them to submit a quotation covering the shopping fee and an estimated goods cost.
4. An admin selects the best quotation and sends it to the Customer for approval.
5. The Customer accepts or rejects the quotation. Accepting moves the order to payment.
6. The Customer pays the upfront bill (shopping fee, estimated delivery fee, and estimated goods cost plus markup) via mobile money through IremboPay.
7. Once payment is confirmed, the Shopper purchases the items and marks the order ready for pickup.
8. An admin assigns a Delivery Partner, who accepts and delivers the order to the Customer.
9. On delivery, the final goods cost is reconciled against the estimate, earnings are calculated, and the order is marked complete.

An order can be cancelled by the Customer or an admin at early stages (before payment is confirmed). Once shopping has begun, an order generally cannot be cancelled, as the Shopper may have already spent funds on the Customer's behalf.

6. Pricing, fees & payments

Orders on Shoppa involve the following charges:

• Shopping fee — set by the Shopper's quotation and paid for their shopping service.
• Delivery fee — set when a Delivery Partner is assigned.
• Goods cost — the estimated cost of the items purchased, plus a platform markup, billed upfront and reconciled against the actual receipt after delivery.

All payments are processed by our licensed payment partner, IremboPay, via mobile money. Shoppa does not collect or store your card or mobile money PIN. If the final goods cost is lower than the estimate paid upfront, the difference is refunded to you, subject to a reasonable variance the platform absorbs before a refund is triggered.

7. Earnings & payouts

Shoppers earn 70% of the shopping fee on each completed order, and Delivery Partners earn 80% of the delivery fee. Earnings can be withdrawn by requesting a payout to a registered mobile money number, subject to a minimum payout amount. Payouts are processed by Shoppa admins and may take time to complete depending on the mobile money provider.

8. Cancellations & refunds

Customers may cancel an order before payment is confirmed. Admins may cancel an order at various stages, for example if no Shopper accepts an invitation or a Delivery Partner is unavailable. Where the reconciled goods cost is lower than the amount paid upfront, Shoppa disburses the difference back to the Customer once an admin processes the refund.

9. Communication

We communicate order and account updates through in-app notifications and transactional email. WhatsApp is available as an additional support channel for questions and coordination, but it is not the system of record for order status — always confirm order-affecting decisions (such as accepting a quotation or cancelling an order) through the Shoppa platform.

10. User responsibilities & acceptable use

You agree to:

• Provide accurate order, account, and payment information.
• Use Shoppa only for lawful purposes and lawful goods.
• Treat Customers, Shoppers, Delivery Partners, and admins respectfully.
• Not submit fraudulent orders, payments, or verification documents.
• Not attempt to circumvent the platform to transact directly outside Shoppa in a way that avoids fees owed to the platform.

11. Platform rules & limitations

Shoppa is a marketplace that connects Customers with independent Shoppers and Delivery Partners — we do not manufacture, sell, or guarantee the quality of the goods purchased on your behalf. Our services are currently available only within Kigali, Rwanda, and we do not guarantee that a Shopper or Delivery Partner will be available for every order.

12. Account suspension & termination

We may suspend, reject, or terminate an account that violates these Terms, submits fraudulent verification documents, engages in abusive conduct, or otherwise poses a risk to the platform or its users. Admins may also reinstate a suspended account where appropriate. You may close your own account at any time by contacting us.

13. Limitation of liability

Shoppa is not liable for the quality, safety, or legality of goods purchased through the platform, for delivery delays caused by Shoppers, Delivery Partners, or third-party payment processors, or for any indirect or consequential loss arising from use of the platform, to the fullest extent permitted under Rwandan law.

14. Dispute resolution

If you have a dispute about an order, payment, or account action, please contact our support team first so we can help resolve it. If a dispute cannot be resolved directly, it will be subject to the laws of the Republic of Rwanda and the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Kigali.

15. Changes to these terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will update the "Last updated" date above when we do, and continued use of Shoppa after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

16. Contact us

Questions about these Terms can be sent to hello@shoppa.rw or through our contact page. Shoppa operates in Kigali, Rwanda.