Terms of Use

Welcome to Akrabaa — the sacred digital tree under which stories gather. Akrabaa is a cultural storytelling platform created by Dade Krama Studios to host, share, and celebrate African narratives, lore, audiobooks, ebooks, podcasts, and immersive experiences, beginning with the flagship work Amane Adesa: Of Monsters and Gods.

These Terms of Use (the "Terms") form a binding legal agreement between you ("you," "your," or "User") and Dade Krama Studios and its affiliates ("Dade Krama," "we," "us," or "our") governing your access to and use of the Akrabaa mobile application, the akrabaa.com website, and any related services, content, features, and software (collectively, the "Service").

01About Akrabaa

Akrabaa is named after the neem tree revered by the Ga-Dangme people of Ghana, symbolising resilience, healing, shade, and community. The Service is operated by Dade Krama Studios, a Ghana-anchored creative studio, in partnership with HQ Consulting as its development partner.

Akrabaa offers you the ability to:

• Discover and engage with culturally rooted African stories, characters, and lore.
• Purchase, download, and consume ebooks, audiobooks, podcasts, soundtracks, and related digital content.
• Browse a Codex of mythology, symbols, characters, glossaries, and world maps.
• Listen and watch through immersive Fireside experiences and ambience features.
• In future releases, submit your own stories and audio recordings as a Creator and earn through verified engagement.

Features are released in phases. Some features described in marketing materials may not be available at the time you access the Service and will become available as Akrabaa grows from The Seed to The Forest. Creator features will be introduced in phases, and additional terms and disclosures may apply at the time of launch.

02Eligibility and Account Registration

2.1Age Requirements

You must be at least 13 years old to create an Akrabaa account. If you are under the age of majority in your country of residence (typically 18), you may only use the Service with the involvement and consent of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to be bound by these Terms on your behalf.

Certain content within the Service may be designated as suitable only for mature audiences. You are responsible for ensuring that the content you access is appropriate for your age and lawful in your jurisdiction.

2.2Account Creation

To access certain features, you must create an account using a valid email address, phone number, or a supported third-party sign-in provider such as Google or Apple. You agree to:

• Provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration.
• Maintain and promptly update your account information.
• Keep your password and authentication credentials confidential.
• Notify us immediately of any unauthorised access to or use of your account.
• Accept responsibility for all activity that occurs under your account.

We reserve the right to refuse registration, suspend, or terminate any account at our discretion if we believe these Terms have been violated.

2.3One Account Per User

Accounts are personal to you. You may not sell, transfer, share, or assign your account to any other person without our written consent.

03License to Use the Service

Subject to your continued compliance with these Terms, Dade Krama grants you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable license to download and use the Akrabaa application on devices you own or control, and to access the Service for your personal, non-commercial enjoyment.

This license does not grant you any ownership rights in the Service or its content. All rights not expressly granted to you are reserved by Dade Krama and its licensors.

04Purchases, Subscriptions, and Digital Content

4.1Available Purchases

Through Akrabaa you may purchase digital goods such as ebooks, audiobooks, soundtracks, special editions, and physical merchandise, as well as subscriptions or one-time access to premium experiences. Purchases may be made through:

• In-app purchases processed through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, subject to their respective terms.
• The akrabaa.com web checkout, processed through Kowri, our payment partner, supporting mobile money providers (including MTN, Vodafone, and AirtelTigo) and credit/debit cards.

4.2Pricing and Currency

All prices are displayed in the currency applicable to your region and are inclusive of applicable taxes unless stated otherwise. We reserve the right to change prices at any time, but changes will not affect purchases already completed.

4.3Payment Authorisation

By submitting a purchase, you authorise us, our payment processors, or the relevant app store to charge your selected payment method. You represent that you are legally authorised to use the payment method and that the information you provide is true and accurate.

4.4Refunds

Because digital content is delivered immediately upon purchase, all sales are generally final and non-refundable, except where required by applicable law or where expressly stated in our refund policy. For purchases made through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, refund requests are governed by those platforms' refund policies and must be submitted directly to them. For purchases made via akrabaa.com, you may contact us at the address provided in Section 19 to request a refund, which will be assessed in good faith and in accordance with applicable consumer protection law.

4.5Subscription Terms

If you purchase a subscription, it will automatically renew at the end of each billing cycle unless cancelled before the renewal date. You may cancel auto-renewal at any time through your account settings or, for app store purchases, through your Apple ID or Google Play account settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current paid period; you will continue to enjoy subscription benefits until then.

4.6Personal Library and Continued Access

Purchased digital content is added to your personal Akrabaa Library and remains accessible while your account is active and the relevant content remains available on the Service. Certain features, including access to purchased digital content, require an active account and may depend on the continued availability of the Akrabaa app. We do not guarantee perpetual availability of any specific title, as licensing arrangements, rights reversions, or content removals may occur. Where content is removed for reasons other than your violation of these Terms, we will use reasonable efforts to provide notice and, where appropriate, an equivalent replacement, credit, or refund.

05User Content and Creator Submissions

In future phases of the Service, registered Users may submit original stories, audio recordings, transcripts, comments, reviews, profile information, and other materials (collectively, "User Content") to Akrabaa. Creator features will be introduced in phases, and additional terms and disclosures may apply at the time of launch. The following provisions apply to all User Content.

5.1Ownership of Your Content

You retain ownership of any intellectual property rights you hold in the User Content you submit. We do not claim ownership of your stories or recordings.

5.2License You Grant to Dade Krama

By submitting User Content, you grant Dade Krama a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable license to host, store, reproduce, modify, adapt, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display, distribute, and create derivative works of your User Content, solely for the purposes of operating, promoting, and improving the Service and showcasing African storytelling. This license continues even if you stop using the Service, but only with respect to copies that have already been distributed or made available before such termination.

5.3Your Representations

You represent and warrant that:

• You own or have all necessary rights, licenses, consents, and permissions to submit your User Content and grant the license above.
• Your User Content does not and will not infringe, misappropriate, or violate the rights of any third party, including intellectual property rights, privacy rights, publicity rights, or moral rights.
• Your User Content complies with these Terms, our Community Guidelines, and all applicable laws.

5.4Curation and Moderation

All Creator submissions are subject to a curation and moderation workflow before publication. We may, in our sole discretion and without notice, accept, reject, edit, remove, or restrict access to any User Content for any reason, including suspected violations of these Terms or applicable law. We are not obligated to publish any User Content.

5.5Creator Earnings

Where the Service offers earnings to Creators based on verified subscriber engagement, separate Creator Terms will govern eligibility, calculation methods, payout thresholds, withholding, taxes, and Kowri-processed payouts. By accepting payouts, you agree to those Creator Terms and accept responsibility for any taxes or duties payable on your earnings.

06Acceptable Use and Community Standards

Akrabaa is built on the cultural values of community, healing, and respect. You agree not to use the Service to:

• Violate any applicable law, regulation, or third-party right.
• Upload, post, or share content that is unlawful, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, sexually explicit, harassing, threatening, hateful, discriminatory, or otherwise objectionable.
• Post content that sexualises, endangers, or exploits minors in any way.
• Promote or incite violence, terrorism, self-harm, or illegal activity.
• Impersonate any person or entity or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity.
• Upload viruses, malware, worms, or any code intended to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorised access to the Service or any system.
• Attempt to probe, scan, reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise interfere with the Service or its underlying infrastructure, except to the extent expressly permitted by applicable law.
• Bypass, disable, or circumvent any security features, content protection (DRM), rate limits, or access restrictions.
• Use any automated means (bots, scrapers, crawlers) to access, collect, or extract content from the Service without our prior written consent.
• Resell, redistribute, sublicense, or commercially exploit any portion of the Service or its content.
• Use the Service in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the Service or interfere with any other party's use of it.

We reserve the right to investigate and take appropriate action against anyone who, in our sole discretion, violates this section, including removing content, suspending or terminating accounts, and reporting violations to law enforcement.

07Reporting Objectionable Content and Abusive Users

Akrabaa enforces a zero-tolerance policy for objectionable content and abusive behaviour. If you encounter content or a user that violates these Terms, you may report it directly within the app using the in-app reporting tools available on each piece of content and on user profiles, or by contacting us at the email address provided in Section 19.

We commit to:

• Reviewing reports of objectionable content within 24 hours of submission.
• Removing content that violates these Terms or applicable law where appropriate.
• Taking action against users who submit such content, including warnings, suspensions, or permanent account termination.
• Allowing Users to block other Users whose content they no longer wish to see.

This commitment is provided in compliance with the user-generated content requirements of the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

08Intellectual Property Rights

8.1Our Content

All content made available through the Service that is not User Content — including the Amane Adesa: Of Monsters and Gods intellectual property, characters, storylines, artwork, illustrations, audiobooks, ebooks, soundtracks, podcasts, the Akrabaa name and logo, the Dade Krama name and logo, the neem tree iconography, the Codex, the Tree, Grove, Fireside, Seeds and Fruits design metaphors, software, source code, designs, graphics, text, and the selection and arrangement thereof — is owned by or licensed to Dade Krama Studios and is protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret, and other intellectual property laws of Ghana and other jurisdictions.

8.2Trademarks

"Akrabaa," "Amane Adesa," "Dade Krama," and associated logos and design elements are trademarks of Dade Krama Studios. You may not use these marks without our prior written permission.

8.3Restrictions

Except as expressly permitted by these Terms or applicable law, you may not copy, reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, modify, create derivative works of, transmit, sell, or commercially exploit any portion of the Service or its content. Removing, altering, or obscuring any copyright, trademark, or proprietary notice is strictly prohibited.

8.4Copyright Complaints (DMCA / Equivalent)

We respect intellectual property rights and expect Users to do the same. If you believe that any content on the Service infringes your copyright, please send a written notice to our designated agent at the address provided in Section 19, including:

• Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to be infringed.
• Identification of the material claimed to be infringing and its location on the Service.
• Your contact information, including name, address, telephone number, and email.
• A statement that you have a good-faith belief that use of the material is unauthorised.
• A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorised to act on the owner's behalf.
• Your physical or electronic signature.

We will respond to valid notices in accordance with applicable law and may remove or disable access to allegedly infringing material.

09Privacy and Data Protection

Your privacy matters to us. Our collection, use, and disclosure of personal information in connection with the Service is governed by our Privacy Policy, which forms part of these Terms by reference. By using the Service, you acknowledge that you have read and understood the Privacy Policy. Where required by law, we will request your explicit consent before processing your personal data.

Akrabaa is designed with data protection in mind and aims to comply with applicable data protection laws, including Ghana's Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843) and, where applicable, the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the United Kingdom GDPR, and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA). We collect only the personal data that is necessary for the purposes described in our Privacy Policy. You have the right to access, correct, export, and delete your personal data, subject to certain exceptions provided by law.

We do not sell or share personal data as those terms are defined under applicable law, including the CCPA/CPRA.

10Third-Party Services and Links

The Service integrates with and may contain links to third-party services, including but not limited to Apple App Store, Google Play, Firebase, Google Cloud Platform, Kowri (payments), SendGrid, mobile money providers, and social sign-in providers. Your use of those third-party services is governed by their own terms and privacy policies, and Dade Krama is not responsible for their content, practices, or availability.

All third-party service providers that process personal data on our behalf do so only under our instructions and are subject to confidentiality and data protection obligations.

11App Store-Specific Terms

If you download Akrabaa from the Apple App Store, you acknowledge and agree that:

• These Terms are concluded between you and Dade Krama Studios only, and not with Apple Inc. ("Apple"). Dade Krama, not Apple, is solely responsible for the Service and its content.
• Apple has no obligation to furnish any maintenance or support services with respect to the Service.
• In the event of any failure of the Service to conform to any applicable warranty, you may notify Apple, and Apple will refund the purchase price (if any) for the application; to the maximum extent permitted by law, Apple has no other warranty obligation with respect to the Service.
• Dade Krama, not Apple, is responsible for addressing any claims relating to the Service or your possession or use of it, including product liability claims, claims that the Service fails to conform to any applicable legal or regulatory requirement, and claims arising under consumer protection or similar legislation.
• In the event of any third-party claim that the Service or your possession and use of the Service infringes that third party's intellectual property rights, Dade Krama, not Apple, will be responsible for the investigation, defence, settlement, and discharge of such claim.
• You represent that you are not located in a country subject to a U.S. Government embargo, or that has been designated by the U.S. Government as a "terrorist supporting" country, and that you are not listed on any U.S. Government list of prohibited or restricted parties.
• Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms, and upon your acceptance, Apple will have the right (and will be deemed to have accepted the right) to enforce these Terms against you as a third-party beneficiary.

If you download Akrabaa from the Google Play Store, you acknowledge that these Terms are between you and Dade Krama only, and not with Google LLC, and that Google is not responsible for the Service or its content.

12Service Availability and Changes

We strive to make the Service available at all times but do not guarantee uninterrupted, error-free, or secure access. The Service may be temporarily unavailable due to maintenance, updates, technical issues, or causes beyond our control.

We reserve the right, at any time and without prior notice, to add, modify, suspend, or discontinue any feature, content, or part of the Service. We will not be liable to you or any third party for any such change.

13Suspension and Termination

You may stop using the Service and delete your account at any time through the in-app account settings or by contacting us.

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service, in whole or in part, at any time, with or without notice, if we believe in good faith that you have violated these Terms, that your use poses a risk to other users or the Service, or that termination is required by law.

Upon termination of your account:

• Your right to access and use the Service immediately ends.
• You may lose access to your Library and any associated User Content.
• Provisions of these Terms which by their nature should survive termination — including ownership, license grants by you, disclaimers, indemnities, limitations of liability, and dispute resolution — will survive.

14Disclaimers

We do not warrant that the Service will meet your requirements, be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free, or that any defects will be corrected. You use the Service at your own risk.

15Limitation of Liability

Our total cumulative liability to you for any and all claims arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service shall not exceed the greater of (a) the total amount you have paid to us through the Service in the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) one hundred United States dollars (US $100).

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain warranties or liabilities. In such jurisdictions, our liability will be limited to the maximum extent permitted by law, and nothing in these Terms is intended to exclude liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.

16Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Dade Krama Studios, its affiliates, and their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, and licensors from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including reasonable legal fees, arising out of or in any way connected with: (a) your access to or use of the Service; (b) your User Content; (c) your violation of these Terms; or (d) your violation of any rights of a third party.

17Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms and any dispute arising out of or in connection with them or the Service shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Ghana, without regard to its conflict-of-law principles.

Before initiating any formal dispute, you agree to first contact us at the email address in Section 19 to seek an informal resolution. Most disputes can be resolved this way.

If a dispute cannot be resolved informally within sixty (60) days, it shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Accra, Ghana, except that either party may seek injunctive or equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to protect intellectual property rights.

Nothing in this section limits any non-waivable rights you may have as a consumer under the laws of your country of residence.

18Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time to reflect changes to the Service, our business practices, or applicable law. When we make material changes, we will notify you by posting the updated Terms in the Service, updating the "Last Updated" date above, and, where appropriate, sending you a notification.

Your continued use of the Service after the updated Terms take effect constitutes your acceptance of the changes. If you do not agree with the updated Terms, you must stop using the Service and may delete your account.

19Contact Us

If you have questions, complaints, or requests regarding these Terms or the Service, please contact us at:

20Miscellaneous

20.1Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and any additional terms applicable to specific features (such as Creator Terms), constitute the entire agreement between you and Dade Krama regarding the Service and supersede all prior agreements.

20.2Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect, and the invalid or unenforceable provision will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable.

20.3No Waiver

Our failure to enforce any provision of these Terms shall not be deemed a waiver of that provision or our right to enforce it later.

20.4Assignment

You may not assign or transfer these Terms or any rights granted hereunder without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms at any time without restriction.

20.5Force Majeure

We will not be liable for any failure or delay in performance arising from causes beyond our reasonable control, including acts of God, natural disasters, war, terrorism, civil unrest, government action, labour disputes, or interruptions in internet, telecommunications, or third-party services.

20.6Language

These Terms are drafted in English. Any translations are provided for convenience only. In the event of a conflict, the English version prevails.