Seller Verification & KYC

Solemate Africa is a curated marketplace. Every seller is verified before they list, and higher-risk categories receive enhanced due diligence. This page describes what we collect, why, and how we act on it.

Who can sell

Solemate Africa admits registered businesses and merchants only. That includes limited companies, partnerships, and registered sole proprietorships holding valid business registration documents. We do not currently onboard unregistered individual sellers.

What we collect at signup

Sellers submit the following before a listing goes live:

Identity

  • Certificate of incorporation or business registration certificate (BRC) as issued by the Business Registration Service
  • KRA PIN certificate for the business entity
  • National ID or passport of a named director or proprietor

Contact & location

  • Physical business address, verified via delivery confirmation for the first fulfilled order
  • Registered email and phone number in E.164 format, confirmed by OTP

Financial

  • M-Pesa Till or Paybill number registered to the business — used as the destination for B2B settlement payouts. Personal M-Pesa numbers are not accepted for seller settlement.

Catalogue review

  • Product list with categories, price points, and product sources
  • Country of origin for imported goods
  • Disclosure of drop-shipping arrangements (see Acceptable Use)

Verification

For each seller we:

  1. Check the KRA PIN format and confirm it against the Kenya Revenue Authority PIN checker where public data allows
  2. Look up business registration numbers against the Business Registration Service (BRS) where applicable
  3. Confirm phone ownership via OTP
  4. Manually review the first listings before publication

Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD)

We apply EDD when a seller falls into any of these categories:

  • Elevated regulatory or safety risk: cosmetics making therapeutic claims, supplements and nutraceuticals, jewellery above KSh 100,000, electronics with wireless emissions
  • Average listed price above KSh 50,000
  • Chargeback or dispute rate exceeds 2% in any rolling 30-day window
  • A specific pattern trips our monitoring: unusually high refund rate, repeated buyer complaints, or a sudden change in listing volume

EDD adds:

  • Source-of-inventory documentation (supplier invoices, distribution agreements, or import documentation) — establishes the seller isn't reselling counterfeit or unlicensed stock
  • Proof of address for the named director, dated within 3 months
  • A verification call over WhatsApp video with the named director or proprietor
  • Ongoing transaction monitoring at a stricter threshold

Ongoing monitoring & re-verification

  • Every seller is re-verified annually or whenever any of the following triggers fires: change of registered address, change of settlement account, gap of more than 90 days without a fulfilled order, dispute rate above 2% in a rolling 30 days
  • We may pause listings pending re-verification without notice; funds already collected for pending orders are held per the Payments policy

Deactivation

We may deactivate a seller when:

  • Verification documents are found to be forged or expired and not renewed within 14 days of request
  • The seller ships counterfeit goods or fails to fulfil paid orders
  • The seller repeatedly violates our Acceptable Use Policy

Deactivated sellers may appeal in writing to [email protected].

Data protection

All KYC data is held under the Kenya Data Protection Act 2019. See the Privacy Policy for full data-handling terms. Regulatory complaints may be directed to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC).

Seller Verification & KYC | Solemate Africa | Solemate Africa