1. Acceptance of Terms
By accessing or using bihakcenter.com (the "Site") or any Bihak Center services, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use. If you do not agree, please do not use the Site.
These Terms apply alongside our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated by reference.
2. Eligibility
You must be at least 15 years old to create an account or use our services. By registering, you confirm that you meet this age requirement.
Users under 18 are encouraged to review these Terms with a parent or guardian.
3. User Accounts
- You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials.
- You must provide accurate and truthful information when creating your account.
- You may not create accounts for others without their consent.
- You must notify us immediately at info@bihakcenter.com if you suspect unauthorized access to your account.
- One person may not hold multiple accounts unless explicitly authorized by Bihak Center.
4. Your Content
Ownership
You retain ownership of the content you submit (stories, profile information, messages). By submitting content, you grant Bihak Center a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to display, reproduce, and share your content for the purposes of operating and promoting the platform.
Content standards
All content you submit must:
- Be truthful and not misleading
- Not violate any third party's intellectual property rights
- Not contain hate speech, harassment, or discrimination based on ethnicity, gender, religion, or other protected characteristics
- Not include private information of third parties without their consent
- Not promote violence, illegal activity, or exploit minors
Review process
Stories and profiles are reviewed by our team before being published. We reserve the right to decline, edit, or remove content that does not meet our standards, without obligation to explain our decision.
5. Acceptable Use
You agree not to:
- Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Site or other users' accounts
- Use automated tools (bots, scrapers) to collect data from the Site without written permission
- Interfere with the Site's performance or security
- Use the Site for commercial solicitation, spam, or unsolicited communications
- Impersonate any person or entity
- Upload malware, viruses, or any malicious code
- Engage in any activity that violates applicable laws in your country of residence or internationally
Violations may result in immediate account suspension and, where applicable, referral to law enforcement authorities.
6. Programs & Services
Incubation Program
Participation in the Incubation Program is subject to additional program-specific terms communicated at the time of enrollment. Bihak Center does not guarantee funding, partnerships, or outcomes from program participation.
Mentorship
Bihak Center facilitates connections between mentors and mentees but is not responsible for the outcomes of mentorship relationships. Mentors are volunteers and their advice does not constitute professional legal, financial, or medical advice.
Opportunities listing
Opportunities listed on the Site are sourced from third parties. Bihak Center does not guarantee the accuracy, availability, or legitimacy of any listed opportunity. Apply at your own discretion.
7. Intellectual Property
The Bihak Center name, logo, website design, and original content (excluding user-submitted content) are the intellectual property of Bihak Center. You may not reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works without our written permission.
The open-source software components used on this platform are subject to their respective licenses.
8. Disclaimer of Warranties
The Site and its services are provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, express or implied. We do not warrant that the Site will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of viruses.
Bihak Center makes no guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information on the Site.
9. Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Bihak Center shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of the Site, including but not limited to loss of data, loss of opportunity, or reputational harm.
Our total liability to you for any claim arising from these Terms shall not exceed the amount you paid to Bihak Center in the 12 months preceding the claim (or zero, if no payments were made).
10. Termination
You may close your account at any time from your My Account page. We will delete your personal data within 30 days.
We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, with or without prior notice. In cases of serious violations, we may take immediate action without warning.
11. Governing Law & International Users
Bihak Center is headquartered in Burundi and primarily governed by Burundian law. However, we welcome users from across Africa and around the world, and we are committed to respecting the data protection and consumer rights laws applicable in your country of residence.
In particular:
- East Africa / Africa: We respect applicable national data protection frameworks across African Union member states.
- European Union / EEA users: Your rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) apply to you. See our Privacy Policy for full details.
- United Kingdom users: Your rights under the UK GDPR apply.
- All other users: We apply the privacy and data rights standards described in our Privacy Policy as a baseline for all users globally.
For formal dispute resolution, the primary jurisdiction is the competent courts of Bujumbura, Burundi — unless mandatory consumer protection law in your country of residence requires otherwise, in which case your local courts have jurisdiction.
If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable in your jurisdiction, the remaining provisions will continue in full force.
