1. Introduction

These Terms & Conditions (“Terms”) govern participation in any afrAIca collaboration initiative, including but not limited to the Data Scientist Affiliate Program, Technology Partner Program, Consulting Partner Program, and any related onboarding or engagement pathways (“Programs”).

By applying to or participating in any afrAIca Program, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms.

Participation is voluntary and does not constitute employment, partnership, or legal representation unless separately and explicitly agreed in writing.

2. Eligibility

To participate in any afrAIca Program, applicants must:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Submit accurate and truthful information
• Possess the relevant skills or organisational capabilities stated in the application
• Not be restricted by employer or contractual obligations from participating

afrAIca reserves the right to accept, decline, or remove applicants at its discretion.

3. Nature of Collaboration

Participation in an afrAIca Program:

• Does not create an employment relationship
• Does not establish a legal partnership or joint venture
• Does not guarantee project allocations, revenue, or ongoing work
• Allows afrAIca to evaluate suitability for engagements aligned with its mission

Any paid engagement, if applicable, will be governed by a separate written agreement (Statement of Work, Consulting Agreement, NDA, etc.).

4. Intellectual Property (IP)

Pre-existing IP

Any tools, models, methods, research, or intellectual property that participants bring into an engagement remain their own unless explicitly transferred in writing.

Project-created IP

Any deliverables created under a contracted afrAIca project will follow the IP terms specified in that project's contract.

Participants may not:

• Claim ownership over afrAIca materials
• Reproduce afrAIca’s proprietary models or infrastructure
• Share client datasets, outputs, or research without permission

 

5. Confidentiality

Participants and partners may gain access to sensitive afrAIca or client information. You agree to:

• Maintain strict confidentiality
• Not disclose or misuse privileged information
• Use such information solely for authorised afrAIca work
• Comply with relevant privacy laws (POPIA, GDPR, etc.)

A formal NDA may be required prior to project assignment.

6. Data Protection & Privacy

Participants and partners must:

• Handle data ethically and legally
• Protect personal and confidential information
• Avoid collecting or using data without proper rights or consent
• Immediately report any data breach or security incident to afrAIca

 

7. Ethical & Professional Standards

afrAIca operates under a strong governance and ethical framework. All participants must:

• Commit to responsible and transparent AI development
• Avoid discrimination, bias manipulation, or harmful algorithmic practices
• Ensure fairness, explainability, and context-aware design
• Uphold human-centered and Africa-first innovation principles
• Avoid behaviour that may harm afrAIca’s reputation or the communities we serve

afrAIca may remove participants who violate these principles.

8. Branding, Marketing, and Representation

Participants may not:

• Use afrAIca’s name, logo, or branding without explicit written approval
• Represent themselves as employees or legal agents of afrAIca
• Publish project details or client information without afrAIca review

Approved partners may receive branding guidelines for compliant use.

9. Commercial Terms

Unless explicitly stated in a contract:

• No financial compensation is guaranteed
• No revenue share or commission is implied
• Partners remain fully responsible for their own business activities

All financial arrangements require separate written agreements.

10. Termination of Participation

afrAIca reserves the right to suspend or terminate participation at any time, including for:

• Misrepresentation or falsification of information
• Breach of confidentiality
• Ethical violations
• Reputational risk
• Non-compliance with these Terms
• Misuse of afrAIca branding or intellectual property

Participants may also withdraw by written notice.

Termination does not waive afrAIca’s right to pursue damages or legal remedies.

11. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent allowed by law:

• afrAIca is not liable for losses, damages, or claims arising from participation in any Program
• afrAIca does not guarantee income, project allocation, or business outcomes
• afrAIca’s total liability—if any—is limited to the amount paid under a signed contract (if applicable)

Participation is undertaken at your own discretion and risk.

12. Amendments

afrAIca may update these Terms occasionally. Continued participation constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

An updated copy will always be available on the afrAIca website.

13. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa unless otherwise specified in a written agreement.

Final Statement

Participation in any afrAIca Program is built on trust, transparency, collaboration, and ethical AI development. By continuing, you agree to uphold the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and responsibility in the work we create together for Africa and the world.

 

afrAIca Sovereign AI Standard

Official Charter, Legal Framework & Public Positioning

1. Purpose

The afrAIca Sovereign AI Standard (“the Standard”) establishes a clear, enforceable framework for the design, development, deployment, and operation of artificial intelligence systems that are sovereign, auditable, and controlled within Africa.

The Standard exists to ensure that AI systems certified under it:

• Preserve data, infrastructure, and decision sovereignty
• Align with African legal, ethical, and operational realities
• Avoid opaque or uncontrolled foreign dependencies
• Enable long-term local capability, resilience, and accountability

The Standard is defined, governed, maintained, and enforced by afrAIca.

2. Scope

The Standard applies to:

• All AI products, platforms, services, and infrastructure developed, operated, or managed by afrAIca
• Partner, customer, and third-party solutions seeking certification
• AI workloads including, but not limited to:

• • Machine learning systems
  • Large language models
  • Decisioning and automation engines
  • Analytics platforms
  • AI-enabled applications, APIs, and platforms

Certification is solution-, deployment-, and version-specific.
It does not apply generically to organisations or brands.

3. Definition of Sovereign AI

Under this Standard, Sovereign AI is defined as:

An artificial intelligence system whose data, infrastructure, governance, and operational control remain transparently accountable within African jurisdictions, with no undisclosed external dependencies that compromise autonomy, compliance, or oversight.

Sovereignty under this Standard is technical, legal, and operational — not symbolic.

4. Core Principles

All certified systems must comply with the following non-negotiable principles.

4.1 Data Sovereignty

• Data must be stored and processed within declared African jurisdictions
• Cross-border data movement must be explicit, documented, and approved
• Data ownership remains with the customer or data subject
• Compliance with applicable data protection laws (including POPIA) is mandatory

4.2 Infrastructure Sovereignty

• Compute, storage, and networking must operate on:
  • afrAIca-managed infrastructure, or
  • African-owned or African-controlled platforms
• No undisclosed reliance on foreign hyperscaler control planes
• Infrastructure dependencies must be transparent and auditable

4.3 Model Sovereignty

• Models must be trained, fine-tuned, or deployed on sovereign infrastructure, or
• Third-party foundation models must be explicitly disclosed
• Model behaviour must be governed and inspectable
• Local override, rollback, or shutdown capability must exist

4.4 Governance & Accountability

• AI decisions must be traceable and logged
• Explainability must be available where decisions impact people, finances, rights, or access
• Human oversight is required for high-risk or regulated use cases
• Clear accountability must be assigned for outcomes

4.5 Operational Control & Skills

• Operational authority must reside within Africa
• Local skills enablement must be provided for operation and maintenance
• Architectures must avoid vendor lock-in that prevents continuity

5. Certification Requirements

Certification requires full compliance across all mandatory domains:

1. Architecture and data flow disclosure
2. Infrastructure residency and operational control
3. Model transparency and governance
4. Security, auditability, and logging
5. Legal and regulatory alignment
6. Operational ownership and skills transfer

Failure in any mandatory domain results in non-certification.

6. Certification Levels

The Standard may be applied using the following levels:

• Sovereign Ready
  Alignment achieved; remediation required

• Sovereign Certified
  Full compliance with all mandatory requirements

• Sovereign Assured
  Enhanced governance, audit, and risk controls for enterprise and public sector use

Certification levels are versioned and subject to periodic reassessment.

7. Governance of the Standard

The Standard is governed exclusively by afrAIca and includes:

• Version control and change management
• Periodic reassessment of certified systems
• Ongoing refinement in response to legal, technical, or risk changes
• Withdrawal of certification where compliance lapses

afrAIca reserves the right to update the Standard and its requirements without retroactive obligation, subject to defined transition periods.

8. Use of the Sovereign AI Mark

Only systems formally certified may display:

• The afrAIca Sovereign AI Standard mark
• Associated certification language or representations

Use is limited to the approved system, scope, and version.

9. Legal Disclaimer

The afrAIca Sovereign AI Standard is a privately defined and governed certification framework.

Certification:

• Does not constitute statutory, regulatory, or governmental approval
• Does not replace legal, regulatory, or contractual obligations
• Reflects compliance at a specific point in time

afrAIca makes no representation that certification alone ensures full legal compliance. Responsibility for compliance remains with the certified party.

10. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law:

• afrAIca shall not be liable for indirect or consequential damages arising from reliance on certification
• afrAIca does not warrant uninterrupted operation, absolute security, or error-free performance
• Any liability is limited to certification fees paid in relation to the affected certification

11. Certification Validity

Certification:

• Is deployment- and version-specific
• Does not extend to modified or upgraded systems
• Is invalidated by material architectural, data, or governance changes unless re-approved

12. Enforcement & Revocation

afrAIca may suspend or revoke certification where:

• Material misrepresentation occurred
• Certified conditions are no longer met
• Undisclosed changes are introduced
• The Sovereign AI mark is misused
• Continued certification presents material risk

Revocation may be immediate where risk is significant.

13. Misuse of the Sovereign AI Mark

Unauthorised use of the mark or misleading representations may result in:

• Immediate revocation
• Public clarification
• Cease-and-desist action
• Legal remedies where appropriate

14. Governing Law

Unless otherwise agreed in writing:

• This Standard is governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa
• afrAIca reserves the right to enforce rights in any relevant jurisdiction