Platform Use Guidelines
These guidelines govern how you may start and use causes, campaigns, petitions, fundraising, marketplace listings, events, jobs, reviews, and organisation accounts on Ardent Africa. By starting or using any of these, you agree to these guidelines.
Last Updated: 20th June, 2026
1. Introduction
These Platform Use Guidelines ("Guidelines") apply to anyone who creates, manages, or participates in causes, campaigns, petitions, fundraising, marketplace listings, or events on Ardent Africa ("the Platform," "we," "our," or "us"). They are binding on you when you start or use a cause. They work together with our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
If you do not agree to these Guidelines, you may not start or manage a cause on the Platform. We may update these Guidelines from time to time; continued use after updates constitutes acceptance.
2. Acceptable Use
You must use the Platform only for lawful purposes. You agree to:
Provide accurate and truthful information in your campaigns, listings, events, and profile
Comply with all applicable local, national, and international laws (including those of Ghana and any country where your cause operates)
Respect the rights of donors, supporters, beneficiaries, buyers, attendees, and other users
Use funds and petition outcomes only as stated in your campaign
Represent marketplace services and event offerings honestly, including pricing, availability, and delivery expectations
Write only genuine reviews based on your own experience, and never review an entity you own, manage, or are affiliated with
3. Eligibility to Start Causes
To start a cause (campaign, petition, or fundraiser) on the Platform, you must:
Be at least 18 years of age or have valid parental or guardian consent
Have the legal capacity to enter into binding agreements
Operate in a supported country (currently Ghana only; other African countries may be added later)
Complete identity and phone verification as required by the Platform before creating a cause
While public fundraising approvals are being finalised, the Platform may limit creation of new fundraising and hybrid campaigns to authorised Ardent Africa Foundation accounts. Petitions and other cause types may remain available to eligible users as shown in the app. When public fundraising opens more broadly, eligibility and verification requirements for user-led campaigns will apply as described in these Guidelines and on our Fees page.
4. Prohibited Content and Conduct
You must NOT:
Create fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive campaigns or misuse donor or supporter data
Harass, threaten, or harm others; promote hate speech, violence, or discrimination
Use the Platform for illegal activities or to circumvent verification or platform rules
Falsify signatures, donations, or beneficiary information
Use funds for personal enrichment beyond what is clearly stated in the campaign
Misrepresent an ordinary user campaign as an Ardent Africa Foundation cause
5. Campaign and Cause Rules
When you create a cause, you agree to:
Honestly represent the beneficiary and the intended use of funds or petition outcomes
Use raised funds only for the purposes described in your campaign
Maintain the integrity of petitions (no fake or duplicate signatures)
Provide updates to supporters when reasonably required by the Platform or applicable law
If you operate a cause on behalf of the Ardent Africa Foundation, accurately represent that it is Foundation-led and comply with Foundation policies
6. Fundraising, Fees, and Withdrawals
Donations are processed through our payment partners. Causes operated by the Ardent Africa Foundation use a zero platform fee path: the full gift supports the cause as shown on the cause page, and those pages do not display the standard crowdfunding fee breakdown.
For standard public fundraising and hybrid campaigns created by ordinary users (when public fundraising is enabled), platform and processing fees may apply as described on our Fees page. Withdrawal of funds is subject to our withdrawal rules, verification, and any applicable fees. You must comply with tax and reporting obligations in your jurisdiction. Our refund policy is set out in our Donor Guarantee and related pages.
7. Jobs and Recruitment
The jobs portal connects organisations that are hiring with individuals looking for work. Only NGO/charity and corporate accounts may post jobs; an employer’s verified organisation profile is its public company page, and the organisation’s team manages hiring. Only individual (personal) accounts may publish a candidate profile and apply.
Employer obligations
If you post jobs, you must:
Post only genuine, currently-open roles and describe them accurately (responsibilities, requirements, and any pay you state)
Not discriminate against applicants on the basis of age, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law
Never require payment, a deposit, an "application fee", or bank details before a written offer, and never solicit money or favours of any kind in exchange for consideration
Use in-app messaging to contact candidates, and not harvest or misuse applicants’ personal information
Close or update roles that are no longer available
Candidate responsibilities
If you apply for jobs, you must:
Provide accurate information in your profile and applications
Not impersonate others or apply under multiple identities
Not solicit payment from employers or attempt to settle off-platform to circumvent these Guidelines
Conduct and safety
Harassment, coercion, requests for explicit images or sexual favours, "bait-and-switch" listings, and multi-level-marketing or pyramid schemes disguised as jobs are strictly prohibited. Either party can report misconduct from a listing or a conversation; we investigate and may remove listings or suspend accounts. Posting, applying, and messaging are free, and Ardent never handles money between an employer and a candidate. The optional support tip is a voluntary gift to the Ardent Africa Foundation, not a payment for any role.
8. Organisation Accounts and CSR Pledges
NGO/charity and corporate accounts unlock organisation features (a public profile and directory listing, multi-seat teams, hiring, and corporate social responsibility tools). With these come added responsibilities.
Organisation responsibilities
Represent your organisation truthfully, keep registration and Data Protection Officer (DPO) details accurate, and complete any required verification
Manage team members responsibly; everyone acting under your organisation must follow these Guidelines
Use your verified badge, name, and logo only for your own organisation
CSR pledges
A CSR pledge is a corporate account’s public, voluntary commitment to support a cause. Pledges are displayed for transparency and are fulfilled through the normal donation rails; they are public commitments, not legally binding contracts, and Ardent does not custody pledged funds. Organisations should provide honest updates on progress. Misleading pledges may be removed and the pledge badge withdrawn.
9. Reviews and Business Listings
Ardent Reviews lets users rate and review businesses, NGOs, schools, and healthcare facilities ("reviewable entities"). Government and religious institutions are part of the design but remain disabled while we complete a dedicated risk assessment before opening reviews of that kind. Every reviewable entity gets a TrustScore built from its published reviews, weighted by how recent and how verified each review is, and shown alongside a plain-language confidence indicator rather than a bare number.
Reviewer responsibilities
If you write a review, you must:
Base it on your own, genuine experience with the entity
Never review an entity you own, manage, are employed by, or are otherwise affiliated with
Never accept or offer payment, discounts, or other inducements in exchange for a review, and never post as part of a coordinated group to inflate or attack an entity's score
Avoid defamatory, harassing, or knowingly false statements
Entity and claimant responsibilities
An unclaimed listing may be pre-populated so it can be reviewed; its owner or an authorised representative may claim it after we verify their authority (identity documents and proof of authority). Once claimed, the entity may respond publicly to reviews (right of reply) and dispute a review it believes is false, defamatory, or not from a genuine customer, beneficiary, patient, or similar relationship.
Do not submit a claim you are not authorised to make, or misrepresent your relationship to the entity
Do not offer, request, or pressure a reviewer for payment, favourable treatment, or removal of a review outside our dispute process
A review stays visible with a "disputed" label while we investigate — we do not remove it simply because the entity objects
Verified invitations
An entity may invite past customers, patients, or beneficiaries to leave a verified review. Invitation batches must cover a genuine, full set of recent interactions (not a hand-picked list of likely-positive contacts); we may reject or suspend invitation batches that appear cherry-picked.
Moderation and enforcement
We use a combination of automated detection (velocity, duplicate-text, and pattern-based fraud signals) and human review to catch fake reviews, self-reviews, and coordinated manipulation. Reports from users or entities are reviewed, and we may remove a review, uphold or dismiss a dispute, suspend an account, or restrict an entity's claim depending on the outcome. Ardent Reviews is free to use and involves no payment between reviewers and entities.
10. Verification and Compliance
Causes created by authorised Ardent Africa Foundation accounts are automatically marked as verified on the Platform and display Foundation trust indicators. Other campaign creators may apply for Verified Cause status through our verification review process, which includes identity checks, documentation review, and administrative approval.
We may require you to verify your identity, phone number, or the legitimacy of your cause (including documents or evidence). Failure to comply, or discovery of misleading or fraudulent conduct, may result in suspension or termination of your account and campaigns, withholding of funds, and reporting to authorities where required by law.
11. Intellectual Property
You retain ownership of content you submit. By submitting content, you grant us a licence to use, display, and distribute it in connection with the Platform. You must not upload content that infringes others' intellectual property or rights.
12. Suspension and Termination
We may suspend or terminate your account or campaigns at any time if we reasonably believe you have violated these Guidelines, our Terms of Service, or applicable law. We may also remove content that we determine violates our policies. Where appropriate, we may offer a way to appeal; contact us using the details below.
13. Disclaimers
Ardent Africa is an intermediary platform. We do not guarantee the success of any campaign, the accuracy of campaign content, or the conduct of users. We do not endorse any specific user-led cause unless it has completed our Verified Cause programme or we state otherwise. Causes explicitly identified as Ardent Africa Foundation causes are operated by or on behalf of the Foundation and are distinguishable by Foundation badges on the Platform. Reviews and TrustScores reflect the opinions and experiences of individual users, not Ardent Africa's own assessment of any entity. Use of the Platform and any reliance on campaign information is at your own risk.
14. Governing Law and Disputes
These Guidelines are governed by the laws of Ghana. Any disputes arising from these Guidelines or your use of the Platform in connection with causes shall be resolved through binding arbitration or in the courts of Ghana, as set out in our Terms of Service.
15. Changes to These Guidelines
We may update these Guidelines from time to time. We will post the updated Guidelines on this page and update the "Last Updated" date. Material changes may be communicated by email or in-app notice where appropriate. Your continued use of the Platform after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Guidelines.
16. Contact
For questions about these Guidelines or to report a concern, please contact us:
Contact form (visit our Contact page), legal@ardentafrica.com