Disclaimer

SiMODiSA Digital Portal Terms of Service

These Terms of Service are effective as of: 1 June 2017 “Effective Date”

READ THESE TERMS CAREFULLY BEFORE BROWSING THIS WEBSITE. YOUR CONTINUED USE OF THIS WEBSITE INDICATES THAT YOU HAVE BOTH READ AND ACCEPT THESE TERMS. YOU CANNOT USE THIS WEBSITE IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT THESE TERMS. ALL SECTIONS OF THESE TERMS ARE APPLICABLE TO MEMBERS, ENROLLEES AND USERS UNLESS THE SECTION EXPRESSLY STATES OTHERWISE.

  1. Introduction

    1. “Simodisa”, “Website”, “we”, “our”, “us” or “the Company”). Any reference to “Simodisa”, “Venture Central”, “we”, “our”, “us” or “the Company”, shall include, where applicable, our employees, officers, directors, representatives, agents, shareholders, affiliates, subsidiaries, holding companies, related entities, advisers, sub-contractors, service providers and suppliers.
    2. These terms, including any document incorporated by reference herein, including, but not limited to the Privacy Policy (collectively, the “Terms”) apply to any person who uses the Services, accesses, refers to, views and/or downloads any information or material made available on the Website for whatever purpose (hereinafter referred to as “user”, “users”, “you” or “your”).
    3. Accessing and/or use of the Website after the Effective Date will signify that you have read, understand, accept, and agree to be bound, and are bound, by the Terms, in your individual capacity and for and on behalf of any entity for whom you use the Website. Further, you represent and warrant that you have the authority to do so and that you are a Competent Person (as defined in the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013, as amended).
    4. To the extent permitted by applicable law, we may modify the Terms with prospective effect without prior notice to you, and any revisions to the Terms will take effect when and on the date specified in a notice which shall either be emailed to you, should you agree to be notified by email, alternatively a note on the Terms. Your continued use of the Website, and/or the Services will be construed as your consent to the amended or updated Terms, and will be conditional upon the Terms in force at the time of your use. Your only remedy, should you not agree to these Terms, is to stop your use of this Website and Services.

  1. Terminology

    1. The following terminology applies to these Terms:
      1. “Members” refer to users which have registered an account on the Website;
      2. “Party” or “Parties” refers to a Member, a user and/or Venture Central, as the context requires;
      3. “Services” shall refer to the use of the Website, consumption of any content and/or resources created by the Members, users and/or Venture Central, in addition to any other services which may be provided through the Website from time to time, as more fully canvassed in clause 4 below;
    2. Any use of the above terminology or other words in the singular, plural, capitalisation and/or he/she or they, are taken as interchangeable and therefore as referring to same.

  1. Your Agreement to these Terms

    1. Subject to, and on the basis of your acceptance of the Terms, Venture Central grants you a limited, revocable, non-transferable license to access and use the Venture Central Website in accordance with these Terms governing such use and access.

  1. Description of our Services

    1. We provide a website for use by both users and Members, designed for SMME’s to consume content and/or resources created by the Members and/or Venture Central, which shall be a single point of entry for all SMME’s in regard to the registering, creation, and operating of small and medium sized businesses.
    2. Venture Central reserves the right to change, upgrade, modify, limit or suspend the Services or any of its features or resources at any time whether temporarily or permanently and without prior notice. Venture Central further reserves the right to introduce new features, resources and/or content to the Services. All new features, modifications, upgrades and alterations shall be governed by this Agreement.
    3. You agree that you shall be solely responsible for any use of your account, and all transactions concluded by yourself on the Website. A Member and/or user shall not allow any third party to utilise their account for any reason whatsoever. If you allow a third party to utilise or in any way access your account, whether intentionally or negligently, Venture Central shall have the right to suspend the provision of the Services or terminate these Terms.

  1. Fees and Donations

    1. Currently, Venture Central does not charge any fees in respect of the usage of the Website and/or the Services.
    2. Members and users may, at their discretion, make certain donations to Venture Central.
    3. Each Member/user which makes a donation shall remain solely liable for any statutory or regulatory charges accruing to such donation.
    4. Venture Central specifically reserves the right to modify its fee structure, pricing structure and/or payment conditions from time to time and at its sole discretion.

  1. Responsibilities

    1. You agree to provide all necessary information, materials and approval, and render all reasonable assistance and cooperation necessary for Venture Central’s provision of the Services. If your failure to do so results in a delay in the provision of any Service, Venture Central shall not be entitled to terminate your Membership and shall not be liable for any loss or damages arising from such delay.
    2. You represent, warrant, and undertake (where applicable) to Venture Central that:
      1. You have the full power and authority to enter into these Terms, to grant the license referred to in 7.7, and to perform your obligations hereunder;
      2. You will carry on your activities on the Website in compliance with any applicable laws and regulations;
      3. You will not use the Services to engage in any unlawful activities;
      4. You have the legitimate right and authorisation (including any necessary licences) to distribute or export any and all products and/or services that you submit for publication on the Website;
      5. You will not sell or otherwise derive monetary remuneration from any products or services on the Website without the prior written consent of Venture Central;
      6. You will not impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent yourself or your affiliation with any person or entity.
    3. You will conduct all activities on the Website in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations and commonly accepted commercial practices and in an ethical manner.
    4. Should Venture Central receive any complaint or claim in respect of your account, Venture Central shall have the right to suspend or terminate your account immediately.
    5. You agree to indemnify Venture Central and its affiliates and their employees, agents and representatives- and to hold them harmless- from any and all losses, damages, actions, claims and liabilities (including legal costs), whether in contract, delict or otherwise, which may arise, directly or indirectly, from use of the Website.

  1. Member Content

    1. Certain areas of this Website may permit Members and/or users to submit feedback, information, data, website links, text, software, images, video, messages, other materials or files (each, a “Content Submission”). Members and/or users, as the case may be, are solely responsible for their own Content Submissions.
    2. Venture Central shall have the right, but shall not be obliged, to monitor or examine any Content Submissions that you publish or submit for publication on the Website.
    3. Further, Venture Central does not guarantee the subsequent ability to edit or delete any Content Submission.
    4. In submitting any Content Submission, Members and/or users make the following representations and warranties:
      1. If required by law, all rights in and to such Content Submissions (including, without limitation, all rights to the reproduction and display of such Content Submissions) are obtained by such user, or, alternatively, all necessary rights in and to such Content Submissions as described in these Terms have been obtained;
      2. If required by law, all necessary license fees, and other financial obligations, of any kind, arising from any use or commercial exploitation of Content Submissions have been paid prior to submission to the Website.
      3. Content Submissions do not infringe the copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, or other intellectual property rights, privacy rights, or any other legal or moral rights of any third party;
      4. Content Submissions do not violate any law including, but not limited to, those governing export control, consumer protection, unfair competition, or false advertising;
      5. Content Submissions are not, and may not reasonably be considered to be, defamatory, libellous, hateful, racially, ethnically, religiously, or otherwise biased or offensive, unlawfully threatening, or unlawfully harassing to any individual, partnership, or corporation, vulgar, pornographic, obscene, or invasive of another’s privacy;
      6. Members and/or users have not and will not be compensated or granted any consideration by any third party for submitting a Content Submission;
      7. Content Submissions do not contain any viruses, worms, spyware, adware, or other potentially damaging programs or files;
      8. Content Submissions do not contain any information that may be considered confidential, proprietary, or personal;
      9. Content Submissions are true, lawful and accurate, and are not false, misleading or deceptive;
      10. Content Submissions do not contain or constitute any unsolicited or unauthorised advertising, promotional materials, junk mail, spam, chain letters, pyramid schemes, or any other form of solicitation.
    5. Venture Central shall have the right to publish the records relating to any complaints against you, as well as any breaches, and/or Venture Central’s termination of these Terms as far as it pertains to you, on the Website.
    6. By submitting a Content Submission and/or users, and assuming Members have the requisite authority to permit same, grant Venture Central an irrevocable, perpetual, transferable, non-exclusive, fully paid, worldwide, royalty free license (sub-licensable through multiple tiers) to:
      1. use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform, and publicly display Content Submissions (or any modification thereto), in whole or in part, in any format or medium now known or later developed;
      2. use (and permit others to use) Content Submissions in any manner and for any purpose (including, without limitation, commercial purposes) that Venture Central, in its sole, absolute and unfettered discretion, deem appropriate, including, without limitation, the incorporation of a Content Submission or any modification thereto, in whole or in part, into any technology, product, or service;
      3. Display advertisements in connection with Content Submissions and use Content Submissions for advertising and promotional purposes;
      4. Venture Central may, but is not obligated to, pre-screen Content Submissions or monitor any area of the Website through which Content Submissions may be submitted. We are not required to host, display, or distribute any Content Submissions on or through this Website, and may remove at any time or refuse any Content Submissions for any reason;
      5. We are not responsible for any unauthorised access, loss, theft, or damage of any kind to any Content Submissions.
      6. Further, you agree that Venture Central may freely disclose any Content Submissions to any third party absent of any obligation of confidence on the part of the recipient.

  1. Refund Policy

    1. Under no circumstances will a refund of any donation be permitted.

  1. Disclaimer

    1. VENTURE CENTRAL MAKES NO EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES, OR GUARANTEES IN CONNECTION WITH THIS WEBSITE, THE SERVICES, ANY OTHER MEMBERS OR USERS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO PARTNERS, THIRD PARTIES, OR ANY MATERIALS ON THE WEBSITE RELATING TO THE QUALITY, SUITABILITY, TRUTH, ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF ANY INFORMATION OR MATERIAL CONTAINED OR PRESENTED ON THIS WEBSITE.
    2. UNLESS OTHERWISE EXPLICITLY STATED, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THIS WEBSITE, THE MATERIALS, AND ANY INFORMATION OR MATERIAL CONTAINED OR PRESENTED ON THIS WEBSITE IS PROVIDED TO YOU ON AN “AS IS,” “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS WITH NO WARRANTY OF IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD-PARTY RIGHTS. WE DO NOT WARRANT THE TIMELINESS, WORKMANSHIP, OR COMPLETION OF ANY OF THE SERVICES. WE DO NOT PROVIDE ANY WARRANTIES AGAINST VIRUSES, SPYWARE OR MALWARE THAT MAY BE INSTALLED ON YOUR COMPUTER AS A RESULT OF YOU ACCESSING OR USING THIS WEBSITE.
    3. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Venture Central makes no warranty that this Website will meet a user’s requirements, or that this Website will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, error free or that defects in this Website will be corrected.
    4. We make no warranty as to the results that may be obtained from the use of this Website or as to the accuracy or reliability of any information obtained through this Website. No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained by a Member and/or user through this Website, from Venture Central, its third-party service providers, or other Members, shall create any warranty enforceable as against Venture Central.
    5. To the maximum extent permissible by applicable laws, Venture Central denounces any fiduciary responsibilities to any users of the Website.

  1. Unauthorised Use of This Website

    1. You are specifically not permitted to use this Website in any of the following ways (which list should not be deemed to be exhaustive of Venture Central’s rights in this regard):
      1. For any public or commercial exploitation, which includes the use of this Website, on another site or through a networked computer environment;
      2. In a manner that modifies, publicly displays, publicly performs, reproduces or distributes any of this Website;
      3. To stalk, harass, or harm another individual;
      4. To impersonate any person or entity or otherwise misrepresent the true state of affairs;
      5. To interfere with or disrupt this Website, or servers or networks connected to this Website;
      6. To use any data mining, robots, or similar data gathering or extraction methods in connection with this Website; or
      7. Attempt to gain access to any portion of this Website, to which you are not ordinarily permitted, or any other accounts, computer systems, or networks connected to this Website, whether through hacking, password mining, or any other means.

  1. Copyrights

    1. The general layout of the Website and all Content Submissions thereof, unless posted by Members or users, are the property of Venture Central/Simodisa and are protected by South African and international copyright laws. Content Submissions posted by Members and/or users shall remain the property of the Member and/or user that created/posted it. Furthermore, the compilation (meaning the collection, arrangement, and assembly) of all content on the Website, is our exclusive property and is, likewise, protected by South African and international copyright laws.
    2. Except as stated in the Terms or otherwise permitted, none of the contents of the Website, may be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or transmitted in any form or by any means, including, but not limited to, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except as permitted by the fair use privilege under the South African copyright laws or without the prior written permission of Venture Central or the copyright owner, and further, should such consent be provided, Venture Central reserves its right to withdraw such consent at any stage, in its sole and absolute discretion.
    3. You are expressly prohibited to “mirror” any content, contained on the Website, on any other server unless with the prior written permission of Venture Central, and further, should such consent be provided, Venture Central reserves its right to withdraw such consent at any stage, in its sole and absolute discretion.
    4. We do not permit copyright infringing activities and infringement of intellectual property rights on the Website, and we may, at our sole discretion, remove any infringing content if we are of the view that such content infringes on another’s intellectual property rights or our own.
    5. You are granted a limited, revocable, and non-exclusive right to create a hyperlink to the home page of the Website, so long as the link does not portray Venture Central, the Members, its affiliates, or its products or services in a false, misleading, derogatory, or otherwise offensive manner. You may not use Venture Central’s logo or other proprietary graphic or trademark as part of the link without the express permission of Venture Central, its affiliates or content suppliers.
    6. All trademarks, as also any other intellectual property rights, in and to any of the content on the Website, unless specifically excluded in terms of these Terms, are the exclusive property of Venture Central.

  1. Breach

    1. Should either Party (“Defaulting Party”) breach any of the provisions of these Terms, then the other Party (“Aggrieved Party”) may give the Defaulting Party 10 (ten) days’ written notice or such longer period of time as the Aggrieved Party may specify in the notice, to remedy the breach. If the Defaulting Party fails to comply with the notice, the Aggrieved Party may:
      1. Claim immediate performance by the Defaulting Party of all of the Defaulting Party’s obligations that are due for performance; or
      2. Terminate these Terms upon written notice to the Defaulting Party where the breach constitutes a material breach, in either event without prejudice to the Aggrieved Party’s right to claim damages or to exercise any other rights that the Aggrieved Party may have under these Terms or in law.
    2. Without detracting from the provisions of the above clause, the Aggrieved Party may summarily terminate these Terms at any time by giving to the Defaulting Party notice of the cancellation if:
      1. The Defaulting Party commits a material breach of these Terms which cannot be remedied;
      2. The Defaulting Party is placed under voluntary or compulsory sequestration, winding-up, judicial management, business rescue or the equivalent of any of these in any jurisdiction;
      3. A judgment against the Defaulting Party in respect of which no appeal lies or in respect of which the period for lodging an appeal (excluding any period to seek condonation) has expired and remains unsatisfied for a period of at least 30 (thirty) days; or
      4. The Defaulting Party makes or offers to make a general assignment or any arrangement or composition with or for the benefit of its creditors generally (or any class of its creditors) for releasing it wholly or partially from its debts.
    3. Any termination of these Terms by the Aggrieved Party is effective on receipt of a notice of cancellation by the Defaulting Party.
    4. Any termination is without prejudice to any claim that either Party may have in respect of any breach of these Terms by the other Party arising prior to the date of cancellation.

  1. Termination

    1. A Member may terminate a Member’s membership for any reason whatsoever by deleting your profile on the Website.
    2. Venture Central may terminate a Member’s membership for any reason whatsoever without any notice and or delay.
    3. In the above circumstances, no refunds of any Donations, or any other applicable fees, shall be permitted.

  1. Assignment

    1. You may not assign your rights and/or obligations under these Terms to any other party without our prior written consent. Venture Central may assign its rights and/or obligations under these Terms to any other party at our discretion and without any prior notice to you.

  1. Export Control Laws

    1. You understand and agree that the software, Services and user data may be subject to import and export control laws and regulations of the Republic of South Africa or the country in which you are situated. You undertake to adhere to all applicable laws and regulations and agree not to, without prior authorisation from the government of the Republic of South Africa or of such other country which is applicable, directly and/or indirectly export, re-export and/or transfer the software and Services to any other country in contravention of such laws and regulations.

  1. Force Majeure

    1. To the extent that it becomes impossible for a Party to perform any obligation (other than a payment obligation) in terms of these Terms because of an event or circumstance that was neither foreseen nor reasonably foreseeable when the Terms were entered into or which, if the event could have been foreseen at that time, cannot be guarded against or avoided by reasonable care or the reasonable acts of that Party, that Party may:
      1. Notify the other Party within 5 (five) business days of the nature, extent, effect and likely duration of the event or circumstance; and keep the other Party updated as may be reasonably required by the other Party;
      2. Take all commercially reasonable action to remedy or minimise the consequences (and report to the other Party); and
      3. Immediately resume performance of its obligations under these Terms and notify the other Party when performance of the obligation again becomes possible.
    2. Performance of any such obligation is suspended for as long as the event or circumstance continues to make the performance impossible.
    3. If the event or circumstance continues for a period exceeding 20 business days, either Party may cancel these Terms on written notice to the other Party, provided that the obligation which the affected Party is unable to perform is a material obligation under these Terms.

  1. General

    1. To the extent permitted by law, these Terms, and the provision of our Services, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with South African law, and any dispute arising out of these Terms and/or our Services shall be submitted to the competent South African courts having the requisite jurisdiction to hear the matter.
    2. To the extent necessary and/or possible, you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the South Gauteng High Court or an alternative appropriate South African court seized with appropriate jurisdiction in all disputes arising out of the Terms, our Services, and/or related agreements incorporated by reference.
    3. These Terms comprise the whole agreement between the Parties in regard to its subject matter.
    4. No addition to or variation or consensual cancellation of these Terms, including this clause, has effect, unless in writing and signed by the Parties.
    5. No indulgence by a Party to another Party, or failure strictly to enforce these Terms, shall be construed as a waiver or be capable of founding an estoppel.
    6. The Parties undertake to do everything reasonable in their power necessary for or incidental to the effectiveness and performance of these Terms.

  1. Severance

    1. If any of these terms are deemed invalid or unenforceable for any reason (including, but not limited to the exclusions and limitations set out above), then the invalid or unenforceable provision will be severed from these Terms and the remaining terms will continue to apply. Failure by Venture Central to enforce any of the provisions set out in these Terms and/or any other agreement, or failure to exercise any option to terminate, shall not be construed as a waiver of such provisions and shall not affect the validity of these Terms or of any agreement or any part thereof, or the right thereafter to enforce each and every provision.