Terms of Service

By accessing or using the website, creating an account, submitting a booking request, or paying for a service, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree, do not use the website or services.

Shama provides online language-learning and cultural-exchange services, including tutor matching, booking, scheduling, lesson delivery, and related support. We may add, change, or remove services at any time.

• You must provide accurate, current, and complete information when you register or book a service.
• You are responsible for keeping your account credentials secure and for all activity that occurs under your account. If you believe your account has been compromised, notify us immediately.
• You may use the services only if you are able to form a binding contract under applicable law and are not prohibited from using the services by law.

After you submit your learning profile and payment details, we may match you with a tutor based on your stated goals, level, language, and availability. We may also provide a booking link or other scheduling instructions.

Lesson timing, format, and duration may vary by tutor and service type. You are responsible for joining sessions on time and ensuring that your device, internet connection, and environment are suitable for learning.

Where payment is required, it must be made through the payment methods we make available from time to time. Payment may be processed by third-party providers.

Unless we state otherwise in writing, bookings are confirmed only after payment is received.

Refunds, rescheduling, and cancellation rules may be set out on the booking page, in a service-specific policy, or in direct communication from us. If there is a conflict, the written service-specific policy will control for that booking.

You agree not to initiate chargebacks or payment disputes in bad faith. If you believe a charge is incorrect, contact us first so we can review it.

• Use the website and services lawfully and respectfully.
• Do not harass, abuse, threaten, impersonate, or exploit tutors, staff, or other users.
• Do not misuse payment systems, booking systems, or communication tools.
• Do not upload malware, spam, illegal content, or harmful material.
• Do not attempt to access accounts, data, or systems that are not your own.
• Do not copy, scrape, reverse engineer, or interfere with the website except as allowed by law.

We expect learners and tutors to act professionally, respectfully, and in good faith. We may suspend or terminate access if conduct is disruptive, unsafe, fraudulent, or inconsistent with the purpose of the platform.

We may remove or replace a tutor, cancel a booking, or refuse service where necessary for quality, safety, or operational reasons.

The website, logo, brand elements, text, graphics, layout, and other content we provide are owned by us or our licensors and are protected by intellectual property laws. You may not use our content except as needed to use the services or as allowed in writing by us.

You keep ownership of content you submit, but you give us a limited license to use that content as needed to operate, improve, and support the services.

Our services may rely on or link to third-party platforms such as payment processors, social media platforms, email providers, scheduling tools, and analytics tools. We are not responsible for third-party content, acts, or omissions.

We may modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the website or services at any time without liability, subject to any rights that cannot be excluded under applicable law.

We may update these Terms from time to time. The version posted on the website at the time of use will apply unless stated otherwise.

We provide the website and services on an 'as is' and 'as available' basis. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we disclaim warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

We do not guarantee uninterrupted access, error-free operation, or that every learner will achieve a particular result, score, or outcome.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Shama will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, lost data, or lost opportunities arising from your use of the website or services.

Where liability cannot be excluded, it will be limited to the minimum amount permitted by law.

We may suspend or terminate access to the website or services immediately if we reasonably believe you have violated these Terms, misused the platform, or created a risk to us, tutors, or other users.

These Terms are governed by the laws of Ethiopia, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, unless mandatory consumer rules require otherwise.

Before starting formal proceedings, the parties should try in good faith to resolve disputes by contacting us directly. If a dispute cannot be resolved informally, it may be brought before the competent courts in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, unless another forum is required by law.

Questions about these Terms can be sent to hello@shama.institute.

Address: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.