In short
- Zono connects you with independent vendors. The vendor is the seller, not Zono.
- Vendors sell on Zono Pro (your payment is held and Zono handles returns) or Zono Flex (the vendor handles everything). The plan is shown before you pay.
- You must be 18 or older. You can browse without an account and check out as a guest.
- For self-delivery orders, keep your delivery code private until the parcel is in your hands.
- Returns are covered in our Returns and refunds policy. Your data is covered in our Privacy policy.
1.About Zono and these terms
These terms explain how you can use Zono’s website and related services (the “Platform”) to browse and buy products. Zono is run by Zono Africa Limited (“Zono”, “we”, “us”). “You” means the person using the Platform.
Zono connects buyers with independent vendors who sell products in categories such as fashion, beauty, electronics and home goods. Zono is not the seller of the products listed on the Platform, and we do not make, import or store them. The vendor is the seller.
By using the Platform, or by placing an order, you agree to these terms, our Returns and refunds policy and our Privacy policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Platform.
2.Zono Pro and Zono Flex
Vendors sell on one of two plans. The plan decides how your order is protected.
| Zono Pro (Protected by Zono) | Zono Flex | |
|---|---|---|
| Your payment | Held until 24 hours after delivery | Released to the vendor once delivery is confirmed. No escrow. |
| Returns and disputes | Handled by Zono | Handled by the vendor |
| Categories today | Fashion and beauty | All categories |
| Fulfilment | Managed by Zono | Managed by Zono |
Zono Pro currently covers fashion and beauty products only. Zono Flex is available across all categories, including fashion and beauty. We plan to bring Zono Pro to more categories, and the rules for each will be shown before you buy.
The plan is shown on the product and at checkout. If your bag has items from vendors on different plans, each vendor’s order follows its own plan.
3.Who can use Zono
- You must be 18 or older to place an order.
- You can browse without an account.
- You can check out as a guest, or sign up or sign in. Either way, we need accurate details: your name, phone number, email address and delivery address.
4.Your account and sign-in
If you create an account, keep your sign-in details and one-time codes private and tell us straight away if you think someone else has used them. You are responsible for activity on your account, except where it is caused by our failure to secure the Platform.
You can ask us to delete your account at any time. Open orders, returns and refunds must be settled first. See Section 15 for what we keep after deletion.
5.How ordering works
You can order from the product catalogue, during a live sale, or by commenting an item code on a vendor’s post (see Section 8).
When you place an order, you offer to buy the product from the vendor at the price shown. The sale is made between you and the vendor when the order is confirmed. A vendor may cancel an order for a good reason, such as stock running out, a pricing error or suspected fraud. If that happens, we refund you in full.
Prices are shown in naira, include Service Charge and VAT. Delivery fees are shown separately at checkout before you pay.
6.Payment
- You pay at checkout through Zono’s payment partners. We do not store your full card details.
- Zono Pro orders: your payment is held by our payment partner until 24 hours after delivery. If you file a return inside that window, it stays on hold until your return is resolved. [CONFIRM: final wording once the Pro payment partner and wallet structure are confirmed]
- Zono Flex orders: your payment is released to the vendor once your order is marked delivered, minus Zono’s service charge and VAT. There is no escrow, and Zono does not hold funds back for a return or dispute after that point.
- Orders through Zono are paid in advance. Cash on delivery is not available.
By placing an order you authorise our payment partner to charge your chosen payment method for the full order value, including delivery.
7.Delivery
Depending on the vendor, orders are delivered one of two ways. Shipbubble, our logistics partner, is fully automated and available to both Zono Pro and Zono Flex vendors. Self-delivery, where the vendor or their own courier delivers the order directly, is the other option.
- Self-delivery orders: we give you a delivery code for the order. Only you can see it. Give it to the courier only when you have the parcel in your hands. If you cannot be there, you may share the code with someone at your address, such as a family member or neighbour. That is your choice. Once the code is used, the delivery is treated as complete and we are not responsible for what happens to the parcel afterwards.
- Shipbubble orders: Shipbubble is a broker that works with a network of delivery partners, and your order status updates automatically once delivery is scheduled. Each delivery partner has its own way of confirming you as the recipient, which may or may not be a delivery code. If nobody is available to receive the parcel, redelivery follows that delivery partner’s own policy, which Zono does not set.
- Please open and check your order when it arrives. See the Returns and refunds policy for what to do if something is wrong.
9.Returns, refunds and disputes
Our Returns and refunds policy is part of these terms. It explains what you can return, how long you have and who handles it on each plan. In short, on Zono Pro orders Zono handles returns and you have 24 hours from delivery. On Zono Flex orders the vendor’s own policy applies, and you confirm it before you pay.
10.Vendors and products
Vendors are independent businesses. Each vendor is responsible for their products, including their description, authenticity, safety, quality, and registration with regulators such as NAFDAC or SON, or any other regulator, where it is required.
Every vendor is verified before they can sell. On both Zono Pro and Zono Flex, a vendor must complete Zono’s identity and business verification (KYC) before they can list a product or receive a payout. A “verified vendor” badge means we checked the vendor’s identity. It is not a guarantee of any product.
We enforce these terms against every vendor, on both plans. If a vendor misrepresents a product, fails to deliver, refuses to engage with a legitimate return or complaint, or otherwise breaks our rules, we investigate. Depending on what we find, we may warn the vendor, suspend their ability to list or sell, or permanently remove them from Zono. Being on Zono Flex does not exempt a vendor from this — it only changes who resolves the return itself (see our Returns and refunds policy).
Please report counterfeit, expired or unsafe products, or a vendor who won’t engage with a legitimate complaint, to zono@zonoafrica.com straight away.
The vendor receives the details they need to prepare your order, and our delivery partners receive your delivery details. See our Privacy policy.
Calling a vendor. On both Zono Pro and Zono Flex, you and the vendor do not see each other’s phone number or email. To speak with a vendor about a specific product, use the video call button on that product’s listing. The vendor can see that you are calling and which product it is about. Calls currently last up to 1 minute 30 seconds, and this may change. This does not affect delivery: once you place an order, your delivery name, phone number and address are shared with whoever delivers it, so your order can reach you. Please pay only through Zono. Payments made outside Zono are not protected, and we cannot help with them.
11.Ratings and reviews
You can rate and review any product from an order you completed on Zono — reviews are tied to a verified purchase and cannot be added any other way. Please keep your review honest and about your own experience. We may remove fake, paid, abusive or retaliatory reviews. A product’s rating is the average of the reviews shown for it, and a product with no reviews shows “No reviews yet”.
12.What you must not do
- Defraud vendors, other buyers or Zono, including by making false claims or abusing returns.
- Place an order you do not intend to pay for or receive.
- Pay a vendor outside the Platform to get around our payment process.
- Collect, share or misuse other people’s personal information.
- Copy, scrape, reverse-engineer or interfere with the Platform.
- Post fake, paid, abusive or retaliatory reviews.
- Use the Platform for anything unlawful under Nigerian law.
If you do, we may cancel your orders, limit your access, suspend or close your account.
13.Our brand and content
The Zono name, logo and Platform belong to Zono Africa Limited. You may use the Platform only as these terms allow. Product photos, names and descriptions belong to the vendors who post them.
14.Our responsibility to you
We do our best to keep the Platform available and accurate, but we cannot promise it will always be free from errors or interruptions.
To the fullest extent Nigerian law allows, Zono is not liable for loss of profit, indirect or consequential loss, or events outside our reasonable control. Zono is not the seller, maker or importer of the products, and is not responsible for their quality, authenticity or safety, other than through the remedies in our Returns and refunds policy for Zono Pro orders.
Our total liability to you for any claim linked to these terms is limited to the value of your orders in the 3 months before the event that led to the claim. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, or your rights under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018. [CONFIRM: counsel to review this cap against consumer protection law]
15.Suspension, account deletion and records
We may suspend or close an account that breaks these terms. You may delete your account at any time, and deletion is permanent. We must keep some records, such as orders, payments and dispute outcomes, for tax, regulatory and legal reasons after deletion. See our Privacy policy for how long.
16.Governing law and complaints
These terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
If you have a problem, please write to us first at zono@zonoafrica.com. We will try to settle it fairly and quickly. If we cannot, either of us may take the matter to the courts of Lagos State. [CONFIRM: counsel to decide between courts and arbitration for consumer disputes. The earlier draft used arbitration in Lagos and flagged a consumer-law risk.]
17.Changes to these terms
We may update these terms. We will tell you about material changes by email or on our website before they take effect. If you keep using the Platform after that, you accept the new terms.
18.Contact us
Zono Africa Limited, a company registered in Nigeria (RC 9497047), Lagos Nigeria.
Email: zono@zonoafrica.com
8.Live sales and the Instagram and Facebook comment feature
Comment to order. Some vendors put an item code (such as A1234) in their Instagram or Facebook posts. If you comment that code, you ask Zono to send you a private message with the product and a checkout link. You do not have to continue, and you can tell us to stop.
Instagram and Facebook are run by Meta. Your use of them is covered by Meta’s own terms and policies, not ours.
Live sales. Vendors host scheduled live sales, which Zono may simulcast to Instagram and Facebook at the same time. You can order during a live sale either on the Zono platform directly, or through Instagram or Facebook using the comment-to-order feature above. Please keep chat respectful. Do not harass others, use hate speech, spam, share other people’s personal information or try to move a sale off the Platform. We may remove you from a live sale and suspend your account if you do.