Terms and Conditions of Use and Voting

Last updated: 26 September 2026

Terms of Service and Voting Conditions

Last updated: September 26, 2026

These Terms of Service and Voting Conditions (hereinafter the "Terms") govern access to and use of the Laureats.cm platform (hereinafter the "Platform"), accessible via the primary website laureats.cm, its sub-domains, associated web applications, and custom event domains.

The Platform is published and operated by Essono Group SARL, registered with the Trade and Personal Property Credit Register (Registre du Commerce et du Crédit Mobilier - RCCM) under number CM-NSI-01-2026-B12-0728, with its registered office located in Yaoundé, Republic of Cameroon (contact: [email protected]).

Any browsing on the Platform, creation of an account or campaign, submission of a candidacy, or purchase of votes implies full, unreserved acceptance of these Terms.

1. Definitions

Within these Terms, the following capitalized terms shall have the meanings defined below:

  • "Platform": The online service Laureats.cm, including the technical infrastructure, public web interface, organizer console, API, and databases managed by Essono Group SARL.
  • "Organizer": Any natural person of legal majority or legal entity (association, company, institution, committee) that has created an account on the Platform to configure, publish, and administer one or more contest or election campaigns.
  • "Voter": Any user who browses a campaign and executes a payment on the Platform to cast one or more votes for a Candidate.
  • "Candidate": Any individual or group registered and featured within a Campaign to receive votes from Voters.
  • "Candidate Applicant": Any individual publicly applying to a Campaign via the dedicated application form, prior to approval or rejection by the Organizer.
  • "Campaign": Any public contest, election, competition, or awards event configured by an Organizer and hosted on the Platform.
  • "Vote": A digital unit credited to the live ranking following irrevocable confirmation of a successful payment.
  • "Payment Aggregator": The authorized third-party payment institution (specifically Campay) responsible for securely collecting funds via Mobile Money or Bank Cards.
  • "Ledger": The immutable, append-only technical ledger recording each monetary transaction and vote movement in strict chronological order.

2. Technical Intermediary Status

Essono Group SARL operates strictly as a technical service provider and collection intermediary on behalf of third parties.

  1. Editorial and Organizational Independence: The Organizer holds sole and exclusive responsibility for the lawfulness, rules, physical organization, eligibility requirements, prizes, and general conduct of its Campaigns. Essono Group SARL is neither an organizer, sponsor, nor judge of any hosted competition.
  2. Algorithmic Neutrality: The Platform’s role is strictly limited to providing software tools, securing payment processing via certified aggregators, and updating the public ranking automatically and impartially in real time based on operator-confirmed transactions.

3. Platform Access and User Accounts

3.1. Voters

Voters can participate without creating an account by default. However, depending on settings chosen by the Organizer for a specific Campaign, prior third-party authentication (via Google or Apple sign-in) may be required to vote, in order to prevent fraud or enforce strict per-voter caps.

3.2. Organizers

To create a Campaign, an Organizer must open a verified account using a valid email address and secure password. The Organizer agrees to provide accurate, up-to-date, and truthful information. Essono Group SARL reserves the right to conduct identity checks (KYC) prior to publishing campaigns or disbursing funds.

4. Voting Mechanics and Pricing

  1. Pricing: Unit vote prices and volume-discounted packs are set at the sole discretion of the Organizer during Campaign setup, in supported currencies (notably Central African CFA Franc - XAF, and where enabled, Euro - EUR or US Dollar - USD). Applicable prices are clearly displayed to the Voter prior to checkout.
  2. Payment Methods:
    • Mobile Money (MTN Mobile Money, Orange Money): The Voter provides their mobile phone number and confirms the payment prompt or dials the USSD code on their mobile device.
    • Bank Card (Visa, Mastercard): The Voter is redirected to the secure hosted checkout page of the Payment Aggregator (Campay), requiring 3-D Secure authentication.
  3. Vote Confirmation: A vote is credited and reflected on the live leaderboard only upon definitive and unconditional payment confirmation received from the mobile network operator or issuing bank. Webhook triggers prompt status re-verification with the Aggregator. No votes are awarded based on pending orders or unconfirmed attempts.

5. Strict Finality and Non-Refundable Nature of Votes

IMPORTANT NOTICE: By initiating and confirming payment for a vote, the Voter expressly requests the immediate performance and execution of the digital service prior to the expiration of any statutory withdrawal period, and formally waives any right of withdrawal.

  1. Irrevocability: Upon payment confirmation by the payment provider, votes are instantly credited to the selected Candidate and the public leaderboard updates immediately. Consequently, all vote purchases are final, complete, and strictly non-refundable.
  2. No Performance Guarantee: Purchasing a vote constitutes public support for a Candidate. It does not guarantee victory, qualification, or any prize, and gives no right to a refund should the Candidate lose, withdraw, face disqualification, or if the Campaign is canceled by the Organizer.
  3. No Refunds: No refunds shall be issued by Essono Group SARL due to Voter error in Candidate selection, dissatisfaction with contest outcomes, or organizational failure attributable to the Organizer.

6. Transaction Integrity, Security, and Arbitration

  1. Append-Only Ledger: Every collected amount and credited vote is recorded in an immutable append-only ledger. Recorded entries cannot be edited, altered, or deleted unilaterally.
  2. Under-Review Payments: In the rare event that the amount received from the operator does not match the chosen pack price, the transaction is marked "Under Review". Platform administrators investigate the transaction logs with the operator. Votes are credited (proportionally or after adjustment) or rejected only after formal audit review.
  3. Failed Attempt Cleanup: Incomplete, expired, or failed payment requests without actual debit are deleted automatically after 24 hours to protect system hygiene.

7. Organizer Obligations and Payouts

7.1. Lawfulness and Campaign Ethics

The Organizer warrants that it possesses all requisite rights, licenses, and authorizations to hold the Campaign, publish Candidate likenesses, and distribute awards. Any contest that is unlawful, discriminatory, fraudulent, defamatory, sexually explicit, or contrary to public order is strictly prohibited.

7.2. Payout Verification and Channels

  • Collected funds (net of Platform commissions) are disbursed solely to Mobile Money or bank accounts thoroughly verified and approved by Essono Group SARL during onboarding.
  • Organizers may request partial payouts while a Campaign is active via their management console, subject to administrative review.

7.3. Safety Reserves and Card Payments

To protect the Platform, participants, and integrity of payments against dispute risks:

  1. Mobile Money Rolling Reserve (20%): While a Campaign is ongoing, a non-negotiable safety reserve of twenty percent (20%) of net Mobile Money proceeds remains withheld on the Campaign balance. This reserve is fully released upon final Campaign closure.
  2. Card Payout Delay (30 Days) : Due to international banking chargeback windows, funds collected via bank cards are eligible for disbursement only thirty (30) days following Campaign closure.
  3. Liability for Chargebacks: Any card payment disputed, refunded, or reversed (chargeback) by a cardholder, along with applicable banking dispute fees, is the sole legal and financial responsibility of the Organizer. The associated amount is immediately offset against pending or future Organizer payouts or billed directly. If a dispute occurs before contest closure, corresponding votes may be revoked from the candidate.

8. Candidate Applications and Moderation

  1. When an Organizer enables the public application form, applicants provide their full name, bio, contact details, and portrait photo.
  2. By submitting an application, the applicant grants the Organizer and the Platform a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to reproduce and display their name, likeness, and profile for the purposes of the Campaign.
  3. The Organizer holds sole discretion over application approvals or rejections. Upon rejection, the applicant's private contact details and submitted photo are permanently purged in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

9. Platform Fees and Visual Themes

  1. Vote Commission: Essono Group SARL deducts a percentage-based commission on each successfully collected vote. This rate is established during campaign setup or via custom agreement for enterprise accounts.
  2. Custom Appearance Upgrades (Pro and Event Themes): Organizers may purchase custom design tiers (custom fonts, branding removal, subdomains, or custom domains). These upgrades are paid directly or deducted from campaign balances in accordance with rates displayed in the Organizer console.

10. Prohibited Conduct and Fraud Prevention

The following activities are strictly prohibited on the Platform:

  • Using bots, emulators, automated scripts, or click farms to generate traffic or simulate votes.
  • Using stolen, fraudulent, or unauthorized payment methods.
  • Attempting to bypass voter limits or security restrictions set for a Campaign.
  • Attacking, probing, or overwhelming the Platform's server infrastructure.

Any confirmed fraudulent behavior shall result, at the sole discretion of Essono Group SARL, in immediate cancellation of tainted votes, freezing of suspicious balances, suspension of the offending Campaign or account without prior notice, and potential referral to judicial authorities.

11. Availability and Limitation of Liability

  1. Essono Group SARL employs industry-standard safeguards to ensure continuous, resilient Platform availability (Cloudflare edge protection, anti-DDoS, SSL encryption).
  2. However, Essono Group SARL shall not be held liable for:
    • Network outages, delivery failures, or delays on telecom networks (MTN, Orange) or banking systems.
    • Downtime or service disruptions originating from the third-party Payment Aggregator.
    • Power outages, local Internet service disruptions, or events of force majeure beyond our reasonable control.
    • User errors in entering phone numbers or selecting candidates.

12. Intellectual Property

All software, source code, visual designs, trademarks, logos, and platform content proprietary to Laureats.cm and Essono Group SARL remain the exclusive intellectual property of their owners. Any unauthorized reproduction or reverse engineering is prohibited.

Campaign logos, trademarks, and candidate photographs remain the property of their respective owners. The Organizer warrants that it has secured all necessary licenses and permissions.

13. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

  1. Governing Law: These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Cameroon and the uniform acts of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA).
  2. Amicable Settlement: In the event of any dispute regarding the interpretation, validity, or execution of these Terms, the parties shall first attempt to resolve the matter amicably by contacting [email protected].
  3. Jurisdiction: Should an amicable settlement not be reached within thirty (30) days of written notice, exclusive jurisdiction is conferred upon the competent courts of Yaoundé, Cameroon.