Legal

Terms of Service

Last updated: 14 July 2026

1. What Sokommerce is

Sokommerce gives sellers the tools to open an online shop, list what they sell, take orders and get paid.

We are not the seller. We do not own, make, inspect, store or ship the goods and services listed here. Every listing belongs to the seller who created it.

This is the same relationship Shopify, Etsy or Jumia Marketplace have with the merchants on them. The seller is responsible for what they sell. We are responsible for running the platform honestly and acting quickly when something is wrong.

2. Who can use Sokommerce

• You must be at least 18 years old.
• You must give us true information about yourself and your business.
• One person, one account. Do not open a second one to get around a suspension.
• Keep your password safe. What happens under your account is your responsibility.

3. What sellers may not sell

This list is not negotiable. Listing any of the following removes your shop immediately and permanently — and where the law requires it, we report you.

Absolutely prohibited

Licence required

You may list these only if you hold the correct Kenyan licence and can show it to us on request:

• Alcohol and tobacco
• Pharmaceuticals and medical devices
• Food produced at scale (KEBS certification)
• Financial and insurance services
• Live animals
• Any regulated professional service

Extra rules

• Cosmetics and supplements.No medical claims. “Cures cancer”, “treats diabetes”, “guaranteed weight loss” — these are lies and they get your shop removed.
• Used goods. Say clearly that they are used. Describe the condition honestly.
• Digital goods. You must own the rights or hold a licence.

4. What we do — and what we cannot promise

We try to keep this platform clean. What we actually do:

• Automated checks on listings and prices
• Human review of any shop that is reported
• We remove listings and shops that break these rules, without warning
• We report serious crime to the authorities
• We cooperate fully with Kenyan law enforcement

We do not promise:

• That every listing on Sokommerce is legal
• That every seller is honest
• That every item is exactly as described

You are dealing with an independent seller, not with us. Judge them the way you would judge a stranger in a market: look at what they show you, ask questions, and pay on delivery if you are unsure.

We take responsibility for running the platform properly — for acting on reports, for removing what breaks the rules, for not looking away. We do not take responsibility for goods we have never seen.

5. Reporting a listing

6. Payments

Cash on delivery

The customer pays the seller directly when the goods arrive. Sokommerce never touches this money. Any dispute about a cash-on-delivery order is between the customer and the seller. We will help where we can, but we hold nothing and can refund nothing.

M-PESA

Where a seller accepts M-PESA, the customer pays the seller through our payment provider. Sokommerce does not hold your money. It goes to the seller, not to us.

That means the same thing it means anywhere: once you have paid, you are relying on that seller to deliver. If you do not know them, pay on delivery instead.

What we charge for

Opening a shop on Sokommerce is free. We charge sellers for:

• Plans — extra features, more listings
• Boost — being first in search results
• Coaching — the training programme
• Stock credit — only for goods we buy and ship on the seller's behalf

Prices are shown before you pay. Nothing is ever charged without your action.

7. If you sell here

• List real prices. “Price on request” is not a price.
• Use photos of the actual item. Not a flyer, not a logo, not somebody else's photo.
• Describe things honestly. Used means used.
• Deliver what you sold, when you said you would.
• Handle your customers' data properly. It is not yours to sell.
• Pay your own taxes. We do not do that for you.

Never list something below what it costs you. We block this. It is not generosity — it is a mistake, and it ends with you losing money on every single sale.

8. Suspension and removal

We can suspend or remove a shop when:

• It breaks these rules
• We reasonably believe it is being used for fraud
• Customer complaints show a pattern
• The law requires us to

Serious breaches — weapons, drugs, wildlife, anything involving a child — are removed immediately, with no warning and no appeal.

For everything else we tell you what is wrong and give you a chance to fix it.

9. Liability

Sokommerce is provided as it is. We work to keep it running and honest, but we cannot promise it will never be down, never have a bug, and never make a mistake.

We are not liable for:

• Goods or services sold by sellers on this platform
• What a seller does or fails to do
• Disputes between a buyer and a seller
• Loss of profit, loss of business, or indirect loss

We are liable for:

• Our own gross negligence
• Our own wilful misconduct
• Anything Kenyan law does not allow us to exclude

Our total liability to you is limited to what you paid Sokommerce in the twelve months before the claim, or KSh 10,000 — whichever is greater.

Nothing here removes your rights under the Consumer Protection Act 2012.

10. Your data

We collect what we need to run your shop: your name, phone, email, orders, traffic.

• We do not sell it.
• We do not show ads based on it.
• We keep it while your account is open, and afterwards for as long as the law requires.
• You can ask for a copy, or ask us to delete it: privacy@sokommerce.com

We use Supabase (Frankfurt), IntaSend (Nairobi), Resend, Vercel and Meta Pixel.

11. Changes

We will change these terms as the platform changes. Real changes get an email at least 14 days before they take effect. If you keep using Sokommerce after that, you have accepted them.

12. Law

These terms are governed by the laws of Kenya. Disputes go to the courts of Kenya.

13. Contact