Plain language. Short. The rules that govern any engagement with me written so a client and I never have to argue about them later.
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These terms govern any professional engagement between Abdoul Hayyou ("I", "me", "the consultant") and the individual or legal entity that commissions services ("the client"). By accepting a written or electronic quote, by initiating payment, or by sharing a brief on which I am asked to act, the client accepts these terms.
My services include commodity sourcing intelligence, counterparty due-diligence, field research and data collection, translation and interpretation, market-entry advisory, and related custom and customs-clearance support all delivered from Niger and across the Sahel region as agreed in each individual quote.
The exact scope, deliverables, methodology, locations covered, and timeline of any given engagement are set out in a written quote or statement of work agreed between the parties before any work begins. Anything not explicitly listed in that quote is out of scope.
Engagements begin only after the client confirms a written quote in writing (email is acceptable). Verbal agreements do not bind either party. Quotes are valid for thirty (30) calendar days unless stated otherwise.
For new clients, or for engagements with significant up-front field costs, I may require a partial advance typically thirty to fifty percent before work commences. The remainder is invoiced on delivery or on agreed milestones.
Deliverables are produced in the format and language specified in the quote. One round of reasonable revisions is included by default; additional rounds, or revisions that materially expand the original scope, may be billed separately at the agreed hourly rate.
Where the deliverable depends on inputs from the client, interview access, registry information, sample materials, briefing documents, I am not responsible for delays caused by their late or incomplete provision.
Fees are quoted in US dollars, euros, or West African CFA francs as agreed. Bank transfer fees on the sending side are the client's responsibility; receiving-side fees are mine.
Standard payment terms are net fifteen (15) days from invoice date. Late payments may incur a reminder cycle and, after thirty (30) days, the suspension of further work. I do not pursue legal collection for amounts below five hundred US dollars but reserve the right to do so above that threshold.
Accepted payment methods include bank transfer, Payoneer, Wise (where available), and other channels agreed in writing. I do not accept payments in cash or in any form that cannot be properly invoiced and receipted.
Estimated delivery dates are stated in good faith and based on the operating conditions known at the time of quoting. If circumstances beyond reasonable control security incidents, regional travel restrictions, telecommunications outages, public-holiday closures of counterparties make a deadline unrealistic, I will notify the client immediately and propose a revised timeline.
Everything a client shares with me about their business, suppliers, methods, or intentions is treated as confidential and is not disclosed to any third party except where required by law. This obligation survives the end of the engagement indefinitely.
I will sign a separate non-disclosure agreement on request and at no additional fee.
On full payment, the client owns the deliverable produced for them reports, datasets, transcripts, translations and may use it for any lawful purpose without further permission.
I retain ownership of the underlying methods, templates, checklists, and tooling I bring to the engagement, and of any anonymised generalisations of the work that I may use in future marketing, publication, or capacity-building. I will not republish identifying details of any client's brief or counterparties without explicit written consent.
Where an engagement involves the collection of personal data respondents in a survey, interviewees, household members, I follow research-ethics best practice: informed consent, anonymisation where appropriate, and secure storage of raw data. I do not facilitate the collection or transmission of personal data for purposes the data subjects were not informed about.
I will decline any engagement that requires me to misrepresent myself to interviewees, to facilitate surveillance of private individuals, or to gather facial or biometric data without consent.
My services are professional best-efforts. I do not guarantee commercial outcomes. A supplier-verification report describes what was observed at the time of observation it does not warrant the future conduct of any party. A market-research report reflects findings on the dates of fieldwork; markets move.
My total liability under any engagement is capped at the fees actually paid by the client for that engagement. I am not liable for consequential, indirect, or speculative losses, including but not limited to lost profits, lost contracts, or third-party claims.
Where an engagement requires travel to specific locations, the safety assessment of those locations rests with me and may be revised at any time. I will not undertake field travel into areas I have judged unsafe, and the client agrees that doing so is grounds for revising the scope or timeline without penalty.
Neither party is in breach for failures caused by events outside reasonable control, including but not limited to natural disasters, armed conflict, public-health emergencies, government action, or large-scale infrastructure failure.
I reserve the right to decline or withdraw from any engagement that conflicts with my professional ethics or personal principles including work that would harm the communities I live with, work that is misleading by design, or work that conflicts with the halal business principles I run my practice on. Where I withdraw, fees for work already delivered remain payable; fees for work not yet done are not charged.
Either party may terminate an engagement in writing. On termination:
These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of Niger. The parties agree to attempt good-faith resolution of any dispute through direct communication before any formal proceeding. Where formal resolution is needed, the parties may agree on arbitration under the rules of a recognised body (for example the ICC or OHADA) or on the competent courts of Niamey.
I may update these terms over time. The version that applies to a given engagement is the version in force at the time the relevant quote was accepted. Material changes will be flagged on this page.