You can register using your email address or phone number. For email registration: enter your email, verify it through the link sent to your inbox (valid for 24 hours), and set a secure password. For phone registration: enter your phone number and verify it with the 6-digit OTP sent via SMS (valid for 5 minutes). Both methods activate a 3-month free access period.

All new users get 3 months of free platform access upon successful registration. This allows you to explore buying, selling, and all features without any subscription fees. The expiry date is stored in your account and you will be notified before it ends.

No, KYC (Know Your Customer) verification is not required for buyers. You can browse and purchase items without ID verification. However, sellers and service providers must complete KYC before listing products or services.

Click "Forgot Password" on the login page, enter your registered email, and you will receive a reset link valid for 24 hours. Your new password must be at least 8 characters with 1 uppercase, 1 lowercase, 1 number, and 1 special character. You cannot reuse your previous password.

Log in to your account, go to Profile Settings, and update your details (name, address, phone, etc.). If you change your email, you must verify the new email within 24 hours. Sellers must keep their profiles complete to access marketplace features.

Yes, if allowed by platform policy, you can select multiple roles and permissions will be combined. However, some roles like seller require profile completion and KYC verification before activation.

To deactivate: Go to Account Settings > Deactivate Account. Your account becomes inaccessible but you can reactivate by logging in again. To permanently delete: Go to Account Settings > Delete Account, confirm with password/OTP, and your account and data will be erased within 30 days.

Use the search bar with at least 3 alphanumeric characters. Results show matching products by name, title, or description, ranked by relevance. You can also filter by category, price range, condition, and location to narrow down results.

Free listings are items offered at no cost by gifters. They appear in search results with a visible "Free" label. You can filter specifically for free items or browse all listings where free products are ranked alongside paid items.

Browse products, add items to cart, proceed to checkout, select your payment method (Cash on Delivery, Card, Wallet, PayPal, or Escrow), confirm delivery address, and complete payment. You will receive order confirmation via email/SMS within 60 seconds.

To sell on AfriConnect: 1) Complete your profile with accurate information, 2) Complete KYC verification by uploading valid ID and proof of address (≤5MB each), 3) Wait for verification approval (≤24 hours), 4) Once verified, you can create listings and start selling.

Required: Product title (≥3 characters), description (≥20 characters), category, price or "Free" designation, location, and at least 1 image (≤2MB). Optional: Additional images (up to 4 total), condition, brand, and shipping options.

Listings remain active until you manually deactivate them or they are sold. Free listings (gifts) publish at no cost and are indexed within 5 seconds. Paid listings follow the same rules.

We accept: Cash on Delivery (for orders under £1,000), Credit/Debit Cards (Visa, Mastercard), Digital Wallets, PayPal, and Escrow (recommended for high-value items). Payment methods are ranked at checkout based on trust and efficiency.

Escrow protects both buyer and seller: 1) Buyer pays and funds are held securely, 2) Seller ships the item, 3) Buyer confirms receipt, 4) Funds are released to seller within 24 hours. If there is a dispute, funds are frozen until an admin resolves it.

If payment fails due to invalid credentials or declined card, you will see "Payment failed. Please try again or use another method." You can retry with the same or different payment method. Order will not be processed until payment succeeds.

Yes! Go to Account > Transaction History to see all cash, online, escrow, and barter transactions sorted by date (20 per page). Click any record for full details including transaction ID, type, amount, status, and timestamps. You can also export up to 12 months of history as CSV or PDF.

Once your order ships, you will receive a tracking number. Go to My Orders > Select Order > Track Order. The system fetches real-time status from the courier API every 5 minutes (In Transit, Out for Delivery, Delivered). You will also receive SMS/email notifications for status updates.

You receive notifications at every stage: Order Placed, Order Confirmed by Seller, Order Shipped/Ready for Pickup, Delivery Attempt Failed, and Order Delivered/Collected. All notifications are sent within 60 seconds via your enabled channels (in-app, email, SMS).

Both buyer and seller receive notification of failed delivery with the failure reason within 60 seconds. You can coordinate with the seller or courier for re-delivery. If using escrow, funds remain held until successful delivery is confirmed.

Barter lets you exchange goods or services without money. View another user's product, submit a barter proposal including your item/service, description (≥20 characters), and expiry (≤7 days). The recipient can Accept, Reject, or Counter-offer. Once confirmed, both parties exchange items and mark as Delivered/Received to complete.

Yes, if you are the proposer and the barter is still pending, you can cancel it anytime. The system will mark it as "Cancelled" and notify the other party instantly. Once a barter is accepted/confirmed, cancellation requires mutual agreement.

Yes! All barter transactions appear in your Transaction History alongside cash, online, and escrow payments. You can see proposal date, items exchanged, status, and completion timestamps.

As a gifter, create a listing with all required details (title ≥3 chars, description ≥20 chars, category, location, up to 4 images ≤2MB) and set the price as "Free." Your listing publishes at no cost and is indexed within 5 seconds. It will be labeled "Free" in search results.

Free listings are visible to all users (buyers, sellers, gifters, receivers) in search and category browsing. They appear alongside paid listings with a clear "Free" label to distinguish them.

After confirming delivery/completion, you can submit a rating (1-5 stars) and write a review (≥20 characters) within 30 days. Only verified buyers who completed a purchase can rate/review. Your feedback helps build trust in the community.

Yes! Sellers and service providers can reply to reviews (≥10 characters) to manage their reputation. Replies appear under the original review with their profile name and timestamp. All reviews and replies are moderated for offensive content.

KYC (Know Your Customer) verification is required for sellers and service providers to ensure platform safety and comply with regulations. Upload valid ID (≤5MB) and proof of address (≤5MB). Verification typically completes within 24 hours. You cannot list products until verified.

Yes! All data is encrypted at rest (AES-256) and in transit (TLS 1.2+). Sensitive fields (KYC docs, email, phone) have strict access control with role permissions. If there is a data breach, affected users and admins are notified within 72 hours.

After 5 consecutive failed login attempts, your account will be locked for 15 minutes as a security measure. You will receive an email alert. After 15 minutes, you can try again or use password reset.

SME (Small & Medium Enterprise) accounts can create promotional adverts for their products/services. Provide: title (≥5 chars), description (≥20 chars), at least 1 image (≤2MB), category, and duration (≤30 days). Adverts go live within 60 seconds and are marked "Sponsored" in search results.

Yes! Go to My Adverts > Edit or Delete. Changes save within 60 seconds. When you delete an advert, it is permanently removed and hidden from all views. All actions are logged in audit logs with timestamp and user ID.

Adverts expire after the set duration (≤30 days). The system automatically marks them as "Expired" and hides them from active listings within 5 minutes. You can create a new advert or renew the existing one.