Welcome to Zidisha! Zidisha is a philanthropic web platform that matches funding participants (to whom we refer as "backers") with funding recipients, who are small business entrepreneurs in low-income countries. Zidisha works to improve access to affordable business financing for disadvantaged entrepreneurs, while making available information on entrepreneurs' proposed projects to allow each backer to choose which entrepreneurs receive the funds that backer provides.
These Terms of Use ("Terms") define your (the "User") rights and responsibilities when you use the zidisha.org website (the "Website") or any other services (collectively, "Service") offered by Zidisha, Inc.
By using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms, any future modification to the Terms, and our Privacy Policy.
Release of liability
Zidisha is not a financial institution, and is not responsible for assessing the reliability of funds recipients, controlling how funds are used, or guaranteeing payment forward of projects posted on its website.
Zidisha is not responsible or liable for any incorrect information posted on its website, or for losses or damages resulting from such information. Other than information regarding prior Zidisha projects, neither Zidisha nor any other party has verified the information that entrepreneurs post on Zidisha's website. Zidisha is not responsible for the accuracy of any such information.
Pay It Forward program
New projects offered for funding on the Zidisha platform are part of the Pay It Forward program. Projects offered as part of the Pay It Forward program are not repaid to backers. Instead, funds recipients are given the option to "pay forward" the funds received to other entrepreneurs on the platform once their projects are complete. Any funds allocated to a Pay It Forward project are non-refundable and cannot be credited back to a backer's account or withdrawn.
Loan program
Projects offered for funding prior to 2022 which were not designated as Pay It Forward projects were part of the loan program. Any loans offered through Zidisha are unsecured and would be considered high risk by traditional financial institutions. In addition, Zidisha is under no obligation to return all or a portion of the funds provided by any backer. Accordingly, participating in loans provided by Zidisha is intended to be a philanthropic rather than an investment activity. Website users should lend only amounts that they can afford to lose in the case of entrepreneur default.
Zidisha is not a bank or other financial institution or investment adviser, broker or dealer. Zidisha makes no guarantee or representation that funds lent through its website will be repaid to backers, regardless of whether the projects financed with backer funds are repaid to Zidisha. Any cash payouts are promotional gifts offered solely at Zidisha's discretion.
Backers accept the risk of loss in whole or in part of funds lent to Zidisha entrepreneurs. Risks include but are not limited to political and economic instability, currency fluctuations, and the unpredictability inherent in entrepreneurial endeavors.
Any loans posted for financing through the Zidisha website are unsecured and bear high risk of non-repayment. Zidisha is not responsible for any financial losses resulting from use of its website.
Loan amounts are fixed in local currency at the time of disbursement. Currency exchange rate fluctuations may cause reductions in the dollar values of the loans over the course of the repayment period, causing backers to lose money even if the loan is fully repaid.
Zidisha entrepreneurs may modify their repayment schedules at any time within the parameters set by Zidisha.
Tax reporting
Funds uploads to backer accounts should not be treated as tax-deductible charitable contributions.
It is the responsibility of backers to report and pay any applicable taxes on any cash payouts received from Zidisha as part of the loan program.
Inactive accounts
If a backer does not make any new funding allocation or withdrawal request within sixty days after uploading funds, redeeming a gift card or receiving a repayment credit, the account will be considered inactive and Zidisha will allocate the available credit to fundraising projects on the backer's behalf. A backer may deactivate automated allocation for sixty days at a time using the "Automated Funding" page of his or her account, but this does not undo or prevent automated allocation if the account becomes inactive for sixty days.
In the event that a backer does not log in to his or her account for over one year, Zidisha will attempt to contact the aforementioned backer using the email address registered with his or her account. If Zidisha does not receive a response from the backer within one month from the date of the first contact attempt, the account will be deemed abandoned, and the balance of any funds that have been credited to that account will automatically convert to an unrestricted donation or gift to Zidisha. Backers whose expired accounts have converted to donations may reverse this conversion at any time by sending a written or email request to Zidisha.
Content policy
These Terms govern the production and use of content or information including, but not limited to profile page content, photos and discussion page comments, which may be used by Zidisha in connection with the Service and which may be visible to other Users (collectively "Content").
You are responsible for safeguarding the password that you use to access the Service and for any activities or actions under your password, whether your password is with our Service or a third-party service.
You are solely responsible for all Content that is published on your account. You represent that you have all necessary rights to the Content published by your account, and that its publication does not violate any third party's copyright or other rights.
Unsolicited advertising, offensive or discriminatory language, personal attacks or accusations, and other content that is harmful to our community is prohibited in the Zidisha website. Display names that promote political, religious or otherwise partisan views are also prohibited.
By using the Service, you grant to Zidisha a non-exclusive, sublicensable, worldwide, royalty-free and transferable (if necessary to a successor) right to use, host, copy, store, distribute, publicly perform and display, publish (in whole or in part), modify, and create derivative works of your Content as necessary to provide the Service.
In addition, you agree that Zidisha may use and refer to your Content that is posted publicly on the Service in marketing materials, reports, publications and other media in connection with the promotion or operation of the Service. This right will continue until your Content is deleted; provided however, that any Content previously included in publications that Zidisha had prepared before receiving your request for deletion will continue to be used.
DMCA notices
DMCA notices of alleged copyright infringement should be delivered to:
Director
c/o Zidisha, Inc.
21900 Muirfield Circle Number 104
Sterling, VA USA 20164
[email protected]
Privacy
By using the Service, you agree that Zidisha may collect and use your information as described in the Privacy Policy.
Indemnification
Zidisha makes no representation regarding any Content posted by Users on the Website, and is not responsible for the accuracy, copyright compliance or legality of such Content. By using the Service you agree to release Zidisha from all liability relating to Content posted by its Users.
Zidisha is not responsible for the actions, content, information or data of other third parties, including other Users. You are solely responsible for your interactions with other Users of the Services, and any other parties with whom you interact on our Service. We reserve the right, but have no obligation, to become involved in any way with these disputes.
You agree, to the extent permitted by your state's laws, to indemnify, hold harmless, and defend Zidisha, and our successors, subsidiaries, affiliates, licensors, partners, co-branders, contractors, and subprocessors, and each of their respective employees, officers, directors, agents, successors and assigns from and against any and all damages, losses, demands, liabilities, settlements, costs and expenses of any kind (including reasonable attorneys' fees) from any claim or demand made by any third party relating to or arising out of (i) your access to, use, or misuse of the Service; (ii) your breach or alleged breach of these Terms, including but not limited to, any representations and warranties, covenants and promises, (iii) your violation of any applicable Laws including, but not limited to, any failure to obtain or provide, maintain, or restrict any necessary consent, including but not limited to User Content, where such obligations arise under the Laws; (iv) any infringement by you or any third party using your account of any intellectual property, privacy or other right of any person or entity, including, without limitation, in connection with your User Content; or (v) your breach or alleged breach of any interaction, agreement or policy between you and other Users.
Zidisha reserves the right, at your expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter for which you are required to indemnify us and you agree to cooperate with our defense of these claims. You agree not to settle any matter without the prior written consent of Zidisha.
Links to other websites
Our Service may contain links to third-party web sites or services that are not owned or controlled by Zidisha.
Zidisha has no control over, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third party web sites or services. You agree that Zidisha shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services available on or through any such web sites or services.
International users
The following provisions apply to Users and non-Users who interact with Zidisha outside the United States:
You agree to comply with all applicable local Laws in force in the jurisdiction in which you are located regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which the User resides.
You consent to the transfer of your personal information outside of your home jurisdiction, including to the United States, and to the storage or your personal information in the United States, for the purpose of hosting, using and processing the personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy. You further acknowledge that these countries may not have the same data protection laws as the country from which you provided your personal information, and that Zidisha may be compelled to disclose your personal information to United States authorities.
If you are located in a country embargoed by the United States, or are on the US Treasury Department's list of Specially Designated Nationals you will not engage in commercial activities on Zidisha. You will not use Zidisha if you are prohibited from receiving products, services, or software originating from the United States. You agree to comply with all applicable export and reexport control laws and regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations ("EAR") maintained by the U.S. Department of Commerce, trade and economic sanctions maintained by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC"), and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations ("ITAR") maintained by the Department of State. Specifically, you agree that you shall not -- directly or indirectly -- sell, export, reexport, transfer, divert, or otherwise dispose of any products, software, or technology (including products derived from or based on such software or technology) received from Zidisha under these Terms to any destination, entity, or person prohibited by the laws or regulations of the United States, without obtaining prior authorization from the competent government authorities as required by those laws and regulations. You agree to indemnify, to the fullest extent permitted by law, Zidisha from and against any fines or penalties that may arise as a result of your breach of this provision. This export control clause shall survive termination or cancellation of these Terms.
Miscellaneous
All of our rights and obligations under these Terms, including the Terms itself, are freely transferable or assignable by us in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, or by operation of law or otherwise.
Zidisha shall not be liable for any failure to perform its obligations hereunder where such failure results from any cause beyond Zidisha's reasonable control.
You represent that you possess all rights necessary to agree to these Terms, and that you will use the Service in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
These Terms and your use of the Service do not create any partnership, employment, agency or franchisee relationship between you and Zidisha.
Termination
You may delete your account at any time by contacting us following the instructions in the Help page.
We may terminate your account or suspend access to our Service immediately, without prior notice or liability, for any reason including without limitation if you breach the Terms. In addition, we may discontinue the Service at any time without liability to you.
All provisions of the Terms which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability.
Governing law
These Terms shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of Virginia, United States, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.
Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be considered a waiver of those rights. If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable by a court, the remaining provisions of these Terms will remain in effect.
These Terms constitute the entire agreement between us regarding our Service, and supersede and replace any prior agreements we might have between us regarding the Service.
Changes
We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms at any time. When the Terms are revised, the Last Updated date will indicate the date of the most recent revision.
By continuing to access or use our Service after those revisions become effective, you agree to be bound by the revised terms.