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Terms of Use

Effective Date: March 12, 2026

Welcome to Lacesse Ventures, a registered Kenyan sole proprietorship ("Lacesse", "we", "our", or "us"). These Terms of Use ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the Lacesse website, products, APIs, hardware, and software ecosystem, including but not limited to Lacesse Duka, Lacesse Fikra, and our Newsroom/Blogs (collectively, the "Services").

By registering an account, integrating our API, purchasing hardware, or otherwise accessing our Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms, as well as our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not use our Services.

1. Account Registration & Merchant Obligations

To access certain features of the Services, you must register for an account. You must provide accurate, current, and complete information. You are strictly responsible for all activity that occurs under your account.

2. Lacesse Duka (E-Commerce & Payments)

Lacesse Duka provides software that enables merchants to build digital storefronts and route transactions. Lacesse is a technology provider, not a bank, payment processor, or financial institution.

2.1. Transaction Fees and Revenue Share

Depending on your pricing tier, Lacesse will automatically deduct a platform technology fee from each successful transaction prior to settlement. This fee is independent of any third-party payment gateway fees, which you are also responsible for.

2.2. Paystack Integration & Subaccounts

To facilitate payments, Lacesse automatically creates subaccounts for merchants via third-party payment processors, primarily Paystack. By using Lacesse Duka to process payments, you explicitly agree to be bound by the Paystack Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy. Lacesse assumes no liability for funds held, frozen, or delayed by Paystack or any other third-party Payment Service Provider (PSP) due to compliance investigations or network outages.

2.3. Merchant Liability (Fraud & Chargebacks)

You are solely responsible for the products (physical or digital) that you sell via Lacesse Duka. If a buyer initiates a chargeback, requests a refund, or claims fraud, you are solely responsible for resolving the dispute and covering the financial loss. We reserve the right to suspend accounts with excessive chargeback ratios.

3. Lacesse Fikra & Artificial Intelligence Models

Lacesse Fikra provides access to automated Artificial Intelligence Agents, APIs, and foundational language/reasoning models (including those powered by Groq and proprietary fine-tuned models).

3.1. API Usage and Rate Limits

You agree not to attempt to circumvent rate limits, reverse-engineer our models, or scrape data from our APIs. Excessive API requests that degrade system performance will result in immediate API key revocation without prior notice.

3.2. Liability for Autonomous Agents

If you deploy a Lacesse Fikra Agent to autonomously communicate with your customers or interact with third-party software, you accept full liability for the actions taken by that Agent. Lacesse is not responsible for financial loss, reputational damage, or data breaches resulting from the actions of your configured AI Agents.

4. Intellectual Property & User Content

4.1. Lacesse IP

All rights, title, and interest in and to the Services (including but not limited to the Lacesse platform code, API architecture, Fikra models, Newsroom articles, and Blog content) are and will remain the exclusive property of Lacesse Ventures. You may not copy, modify, or distribute our intellectual property without express written consent.

4.2. Merchant & User IP

5. Privacy, Cookies & Third-Party Partners

Your privacy is important to us. Our collection, use, and sharing of personal data, including customer data processed on behalf of Merchants, is governed by our Privacy Policy.

5.1. Comprehensive Cookie Policy

Because our platform heavily relies on authenticated sessions and seamless API integrations, we use cookies and local storage to function properly. By using our Services, you consent to the use of:

You may disable non-essential cookies through your browser settings, though doing so may break core functionalities of Lacesse Duka or Fikra.

5.2. Data Subprocessors & Partners

To provide enterprise-grade infrastructure, we rely on third-party cloud providers, payment gateways, and AI model hosts globally (including in Frankfurt, Germany, and the United States). By using Lacesse, you consent to the routing and storage of data through these partners. For a fully transparent list of our vendors and international data transfers, please review our Subprocessors & Partners Page.

6. Hardware & Physical Products

Lacesse may occasionally offer physical hardware products, prototypes, or developer kits for sale or pre-order. Unless explicitly stated otherwise in a separate hardware warranty agreement, all hardware provided by Lacesse is sold strictly on an "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" basis. Lacesse disclaims all implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose regarding experimental or pre-release hardware. We are not liable for shipping delays, import duties, or customs seizures.

7. Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)

You may not use any Lacesse Service for any illegal, harmful, or abusive activity. Prohibited activities include, but are not limited to:

8. Uptime & Service Level Agreement (SLA)

We strive to keep the Services operational 24/7/365. However, Lacesse Services are provided on an "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" basis. We do not warrant that the Services will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free. We explicitly disclaim liability for revenue lost during scheduled maintenance or unforeseen server downtime.

9. Limitation of Liability

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Lacesse Ventures from any claims, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including legal fees) arising out of your breach of these Terms, your violation of any law, your interactions with your end-customers, or any disputes involving your Paystack subaccount.

11. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your account, API access, or Duka storefront at any time, with or without cause, and with or without notice, if we believe you have violated these Terms or pose a legal or financial risk to Lacesse Ventures. Upon termination, your right to use the Services will immediately cease.

12. General Provisions

12.1. Governing Law & Jurisdiction

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Kenya. Any disputes arising out of or in connection with these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Nairobi, Kenya.

12.2. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that these Terms will otherwise remain in full force and effect.

13. Modifications

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by updating the "Effective Date" at the top of this page or via email. Your continued use of the Services after changes become effective constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms.

For legal inquiries, please contact: [email protected]