1. Independent contractor status
You provide services on MakeChapa as an independent contractor. Nothing in this agreement creates employment, partnership, agency or a joint venture between you and MakeChapa. You decide when and how you work, you use your own equipment, and you may work for other clients and platforms.
2. Your commitments
- Represent your identity, skills and experience accurately.
- Only bid on work you are able to deliver.
- Deliver the agreed scope within the agreed time, and communicate promptly through the platform inbox.
- Keep client material confidential and use it only for the contracted work.
- Unless the contract says otherwise, ownership of the delivered work transfers to the client on full payment.
- Keep all contract communication and payment on the platform. Taking a contracted engagement off-platform to avoid commission is a breach of this agreement.
3. Payment and commission
You are paid from escrow once the client releases the contract. MakeChapa deducts a 10% platform commission from the project value. The full breakdown, including the Chapa processing fee paid by the client, is in the Fee & Pricing Policy and is shown to you on every proposal and settlement view.
4. Tax section — you must read and accept this
You are responsible for your own taxes. By accepting this agreement you confirm that:
- You are an independent contractor and MakeChapa is not your employer.
- Your earnings on MakeChapa are gross of income tax. MakeChapa does not withhold or pay income tax on your behalf, unless a law obliges us to withhold and we have notified you.
- You will declare your platform earnings to the Ethiopian Ministry of Revenue or your regional revenue authority, register for tax where the law requires it, and pay any income tax, business tax or VAT for which you are personally liable.
- You will provide your TIN when we are required to collect it before making a payout, and you will keep it accurate.
- Where you are VAT-registered in your own right, VAT on your services is your responsibility to charge, declare and remit. MakeChapa's commission is a separate charge from MakeChapa to you.
- Any VAT charged by MakeChapa applies only to our 10% commission, never to your project value. VAT charging is not currently activated; you will be notified before it starts.
- You will keep your own records, and you accept that MakeChapa keeps transaction and tax records for 10 years and may disclose them to a tax authority on a lawful request.
- If you give us incorrect tax information and we suffer a penalty as a direct result, you will reimburse that penalty.
Our own tax registration particulars (legal entity name, TIN, Commercial Registration No., Business License No.) are: Pending finalization by legal/tax adviser.
5. Payouts
Payouts go to the bank or mobile-money account on your profile. Your name on that account must match your verified identity. Every payout passes an internal two-person approval before it is sent. We may hold a payout while a dispute, a fraud review or a verification issue is open.
6. Ratings, reviews and conduct
Clients may rate and review your work, and you may rate them. Manipulating reviews, harassment, discrimination or abusive conduct may lead to suspension.
7. Suspension and termination
Either side may end this agreement at any time. Open contracts must still be completed or resolved through the dispute process. We may suspend your account for breach of this agreement, of the Terms of Service, or where fraud is suspected.
8. Acceptance record
Your acceptance of this agreement — including the tax section — is recorded with your user ID, the document version and a timestamp. That record is append-only: each new acceptance is stored as a new entry, and existing entries are never edited or deleted.
9. Platform Communications
By accepting this document you agree to receive platform communications from MakeChapa in your in-platform inbox.
- Operational notices — policy and fee changes, security alerts, verification requests, escrow and payment issues, and dispute updates. These are required to run your account safely and cannot be switched off while your account is open.
- Promotional messages — product news, tips, offers and community updates. These are optional: you can turn them off any time under Account -> Notifications -> Promotional announcements, and turning them off never affects your operational notices, payouts or contracts.
We deliver announcements to your MakeChapa inbox so a permanent record stays with your account. We do not sell your contact details, and we never ask for passwords, PINs or one-time codes in any announcement.