Terms of Service

Last updated: pending review

This document is being finalized and is pending legal review. It accurately describes Zoulna's current practices but may be updated before launch.

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the Zoulna platform, including our mobile applications, websites, and related services (together, the "Platform" or "Zoulna"). Zoulna is an online marketplace based in and serving the Republic of the Sudan that connects customers who order food with restaurants and merchants who prepare it and delivery riders who deliver it.

By creating an account, placing an order, accepting orders, or otherwise using the Platform, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use Zoulna.

1. Acceptance of These Terms

By accessing or using Zoulna, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to these Terms, and that you have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement under the laws of the Sudan. These Terms apply to all users of the Platform, whether you use Zoulna as a customer, a restaurant or merchant, or a delivery rider.

If you use Zoulna on behalf of a business (for example, a restaurant), you confirm that you are authorized to bind that business to these Terms.

2. Eligibility & Accounts

To use Zoulna, you must:

• Be at least 18 years of age, or the age of legal majority in the Sudan, and able to enter into a binding contract.
• Register an account and provide accurate, current, and complete information, and keep it up to date.
• Verify your phone number. When you register, we send a one-time verification code to your phone via WhatsApp. You must enter this code to activate your account. You are responsible for ensuring that the phone number you provide is yours and is correct.

You are responsible for keeping your account credentials (including any password or access to your verified phone number) secure, and for all activity that occurs under your account. Notify us promptly via our support channel if you believe your account has been used without your authorization.

You may hold only one account per role unless we expressly permit otherwise. We may decline registration, or require additional information, at our discretion and in accordance with applicable law.

3. Roles & Responsibilities

Zoulna serves three types of users. Each has different obligations.

3.1 Customers

As a customer, you agree to:

• Provide an accurate delivery address and contact details, and be reasonably available to receive your order.
• Pay the full amount due for any order you place, including the price of items, delivery fees, and any applicable service fees and taxes.
• Treat restaurants and riders with respect and not engage in abusive, fraudulent, or unlawful behavior.
• Inspect your order on delivery where practical and raise any issue promptly through the Platform or our support channel.

3.2 Restaurants & Merchants

If you join Zoulna as a restaurant or merchant, you must complete our identity and business verification (KYC) process and be approved before your listings become active. As an approved merchant, you agree to:

• Provide accurate menu information, including item descriptions, prices, availability, and any allergen or ingredient information you choose or are required to disclose.
• Prepare food in compliance with all applicable food safety, hygiene, health, and licensing laws and regulations of the Sudan. You are solely responsible for the quality, safety, accuracy, and lawful preparation of the food you sell.
• Accept and prepare orders promptly during your stated operating hours, or update your availability if you cannot.
• Honor the prices and items shown on your menu at the time the customer confirms the order.

You are responsible for obtaining and maintaining all licenses, permits, and approvals required to operate your business.

3.3 Delivery Riders

If you join Zoulna as a delivery rider, you must complete our identity verification (KYC) process and be approved before you can go online. You cannot accept or deliver orders until your KYC is approved. As an approved rider, you agree to:

• Hold any licenses, permits, or insurance required by law to operate your vehicle and perform deliveries in the Sudan.
• Collect orders and deliver them promptly, safely, and in good condition to the address provided.
• Conduct yourself professionally and lawfully, and treat customers and merchants with respect.
• Handle any cash you collect on delivery honestly and settle amounts owed in accordance with the Platform's processes.

You are solely responsible for your conduct during deliveries, including compliance with traffic and other applicable laws.

4. Orders & Cancellations

When you place an order, you make an offer to purchase the selected items at the prices shown. An order is confirmed when the restaurant accepts it. The restaurant then prepares the order and a rider is dispatched to deliver it.

• Acceptance. Restaurants may decline orders (for example, if an item is unavailable or they are too busy). If an order is declined and you have already paid through the Platform, the relevant amount will be reversed to your original payment method or wallet.
• Cancellation by you. You may be able to cancel an order before the restaurant begins preparing it. Once preparation has started, cancellation may not be possible, or a charge may apply, because food may already have been made.
• Cancellation by a restaurant, rider, or Zoulna. An order may be cancelled by the restaurant, the rider, or by us — for example due to unavailability, suspected fraud, an inability to reach you, an invalid address, or a technical or safety issue. Where you have paid for a cancelled order through the Platform, you will be refunded the appropriate amount.
• Failed delivery. If a delivery cannot be completed because you are unavailable or provided incorrect details, you may still be charged for the order or a portion of it.

We aim to show accurate preparation and delivery estimates, but these are estimates only and are not guaranteed.

5. Prices, Fees & Payments

Prices for items are set by the restaurants. Before you confirm an order, the Platform displays the price of the items, the delivery fee, and any applicable service fees and taxes, so that you can see the total payable.

Currently, you may pay by:

• Cash on delivery, paid directly to the rider on receipt of your order; and
• The in-app Wallet, where your balance is used to pay for orders.

We may add further payment methods in the future, such as card payments or mobile money. Any additional methods will be made available within the Platform and may be subject to additional terms.

Fees and prices may change from time to time. Any change will apply to orders placed after the change is shown in the Platform. Unless required by law or stated otherwise, amounts paid are non-refundable except in the cancellation and refund situations described in these Terms.

Wallet, Earnings & Payouts

• Customer wallet. Refunds, credits, or top-ups may be held in your in-app wallet and used towards future orders, subject to applicable law and our processes.
• Rider earnings. Riders accrue earnings for completed deliveries and settle any cash collected in accordance with the Platform's settlement processes.
• Merchant payouts. Merchants receive payouts for completed orders, net of applicable fees, in accordance with the Platform's payout processes.

The mechanics of wallets, earnings, and payouts may change over time. We will reflect any material changes within the Platform.

6. Zoulna's Role as an Intermediary

Zoulna is a marketplace platform that connects customers, restaurants, and riders. Zoulna does not prepare, cook, produce, or sell the food offered on the Platform, and is not a party to the sale of food between a restaurant and a customer.

• Restaurants are independent businesses solely responsible for the food they list and sell, including its quality, safety, accuracy, preparation, and compliance with food and licensing laws.
• Riders are responsible for the conduct and manner of delivery.
• Zoulna's role is to provide the technology that facilitates ordering, dispatch, payment processing where applicable, and communication between users.

Zoulna does not guarantee the quality of any restaurant's food or the conduct of any rider, although we provide support channels and may take action against users who breach these Terms. Where a problem arises with an order, we will use reasonable efforts to help resolve it, but responsibility for the food rests with the restaurant and for the delivery conduct with the rider.

7. Ratings & Content

You may be able to rate and review orders, restaurants, and riders, and to submit other content through the Platform. When you submit content, you agree that it is accurate, lawful, and your own, and that it does not infringe anyone's rights or contain abusive, defamatory, misleading, or unlawful material.

You grant Zoulna a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, display, and distribute the content you submit for the purpose of operating and promoting the Platform. We may moderate, decline to publish, or remove content that violates these Terms or that we reasonably consider inappropriate, and we may remove ratings we believe to be fake, manipulated, or abusive.

8. Prohibited Conduct

When using Zoulna, you must not:

• Provide false information, impersonate others, or use the Platform fraudulently.
• Place fake, fraudulent, or bad-faith orders, or fail to pay for orders you receive.
• Harass, threaten, abuse, or discriminate against any customer, rider, merchant, or member of our staff.
• Buy, sell, or attempt to deliver illegal, prohibited, or restricted items through the Platform.
• Circumvent the Platform — for example, by arranging payment or delivery off-platform to avoid fees, or by soliciting users to transact outside Zoulna.
• Scrape, copy, or harvest data from the Platform, or use bots, automated tools, or other unauthorized means to access it.
• Interfere with, disrupt, or attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Platform, its systems, or other users' accounts.
• Use the Platform for any unlawful purpose or in violation of the laws of the Sudan.

9. Suspension & Termination

We may suspend, restrict, or terminate your account or access to the Platform, with or without prior notice, if we reasonably believe that you have breached these Terms, engaged in fraud or unlawful conduct, created risk for other users, or where required by law.

You may stop using Zoulna and request closure of your account at any time through our support channel. Amounts genuinely owed (for example, outstanding payments, settlements, or payouts) survive termination and remain payable. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination — including those on intermediary role, disclaimers, limitation of liability, intellectual property, and governing law — continue to apply after your account ends.

10. Disclaimers & Limitation of Liability

The Platform is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. While we work to keep Zoulna reliable, accurate, and available, we do not guarantee that the Platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, or always available, or that estimates such as delivery times will be met.

Because Zoulna is an intermediary and does not produce the food, we are not responsible for the quality, safety, or fitness of food prepared by restaurants, nor for the independent acts or omissions of restaurants or riders.

To the extent permitted by the laws of the Sudan, Zoulna shall not be liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential losses arising from your use of the Platform. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited under the laws of the Sudan, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or under mandatory consumer-protection rights. These Terms do not affect any rights you have as a consumer that cannot be waived under Sudanese law.

11. Intellectual Property

The Zoulna name, the زولنا brand, our logos, the Platform's design, software, text, and other content (other than content submitted by users or content owned by restaurants) are owned by or licensed to Zoulna and are protected by intellectual-property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, reverse-engineer, or create derivative works from any part of the Platform, or use our brand or marks, without our prior written permission.

We grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Platform for its intended purpose in accordance with these Terms.

12. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time, for example to reflect changes in the Platform, our services, or the law. When we make material changes, we will provide reasonable notice — for example, within the Platform or by other appropriate means. Your continued use of Zoulna after the changes take effect means you accept the updated Terms. The "Last updated" date at the top shows when these Terms were last revised.

13. Governing Law & Disputes

These Terms, and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them or your use of the Platform, are governed by the laws of the Republic of the Sudan. The courts of the Sudan shall have jurisdiction over any such dispute.

Before resorting to court proceedings, we encourage you to contact us through our support channel so that we can try to resolve the matter amicably.

14. Contact

If you have questions, complaints, or requests regarding these Terms or the Platform, you can reach Zoulna support via WhatsApp at: https://wa.me/393756199164