Terms of Use

1. Who can use SME Foundry

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account, add a business listing, or ask for a service referral. Anyone can read our content without an account.

2. What SME Foundry offers

The Platform includes:

• Editorial content, such as articles and guides
• A business directory where SMEs can list their business
• A referral service that connects you to independent service providers (“Partners”)
• A newsletter and other community tools

SME Foundry is a media and referral platform. We are not a law firm, an accounting firm, a financial adviser, or a government body. Nothing on the Platform is legal, tax, or financial advice for your specific situation. See Section 8 below, and our full Disclaimer, for more on this.

3. Your account

If you create an account to add a business listing or manage a profile, you are responsible for making sure the information is correct and for keeping your login details safe. You are responsible for anything that happens using your account.

4. Business listings and content you submit

If you submit a business listing, comment, review, or anything else (“User Content”), you confirm that:

• You have the right to submit it
• It does not break anyone else’s rights
• It is accurate, as far as you know
• It follows the rules in Section 5 below

You still own your User Content, but you give SME Foundry permission to show, share, and publish it on the Platform for as long as it stays live. We may remove or reject any listing at any time, for example if we cannot confirm the business is real, or if it breaks these Terms.

Being listed in the SME Foundry Directory is not an endorsement from us. It is not a guarantee that the business is good, honest, or reliable.

5. Rules for using the Platform

You agree not to:

• Post anything false, misleading, or that unfairly damages someone’s reputation
• Pretend to be a business or person you are not authorised to represent
• Copy or extract large amounts of data from the Platform without our written permission
• Try to interfere with how the Platform works or its security
• Use the Platform for anything illegal

We can suspend or block access for anyone who breaks these rules.

6. Our content and intellectual property

Unless we say otherwise, all our articles, designs, logos, and branding belong to SME Foundry or the people we license them from. This content is protected by copyright and trademark law. You can share and link to our content for personal, non-commercial use, as long as you credit us. You cannot republish, copy, or reuse our content to create something new without asking us first.

7. Service providers and partners

The Platform connects you to independent companies (“Partners”) for services like web design, legal help, accounting, and marketing. Please note:

• Partners do not work for SME Foundry, and we are not part of any agreement between you and a Partner
• We do not guarantee the quality, speed, price, or result of any service a Partner provides
• We are not responsible for any problem, loss, or damage that comes from working with a Partner

Any agreement for services is between you and the Partner only. Please do your own research before hiring anyone, whether you found them through SME Foundry or elsewhere.

8. This is not professional advice

The content we publish, including guides, articles, and any tools, is for general information only. It is not a replacement for advice from a qualified lawyer, accountant, or financial adviser who understands your specific situation. Laws and rules, including tax rates and registration steps, can change. Always check the current requirements with the right government body or a licensed professional before making a decision. Our full Disclaimer explains this in more detail.

9. No guarantees

The Platform and its content are provided “as is.” We do not promise that everything is accurate, complete, or perfect for your needs. We try to keep our content correct and up to date, but we cannot guarantee it is free of errors.

10. Limits on our responsibility

As far as the law allows, SME Foundry and our staff are not responsible for any indirect loss, such as lost profits or lost business opportunities, that comes from using the Platform or relying on our content.

11. If a claim is made against us

If someone makes a legal claim because of something you did on the Platform, such as breaking these Terms or posting harmful content, you agree to cover the resulting costs and legal claims against SME Foundry.

12. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will update the date at the top of this page. If a change is significant, we will make it more visible on the Platform. If you keep using the Platform after a change, that means you accept the new Terms.

13. Which laws apply

These Terms are governed by the laws of Nigeria. Any legal dispute about these Terms or the Platform will be handled by the courts of Nigeria.

14. Contact us

Questions about these Terms: