Privacy Policy

Ducent is operated by Zigna (“Zigna”, “Ducent”, “we”, “us”, or “our”).

We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting the personal information you provide when using the Ducent website, applications, products, and services (collectively, the “Service”).

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and protect it, when we may share it, and the rights you have in relation to your information.

Ducent operates in accordance with applicable data protection laws, including the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.

By using Ducent, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

Ducent is operated by:

Zigna

Business Address: Lagos, Nigeria

Privacy Email: privacy@ducent.ng

For questions, concerns, or requests relating to your personal information, contact us at privacy@ducent.ng.

We collect information that is reasonably necessary to provide, secure, and operate Ducent.

2.1 Information You Provide

Depending on how you use Ducent, we may collect:

• Full name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Password and authentication credentials
• Account information
• Business information
• Business name and description
• Business contact information
• Business location information that you voluntarily provide
• Business categories and industries
• Social media and other business handles
• Reviews and ratings
• Transaction information
• Information submitted when reporting a business or user
• Information provided when contacting customer support
• Information provided during business verification

We aim to collect only information that is reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.

Ducent may require businesses to provide information or documentation to verify their identity and legitimacy. This may include:

• Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) registration information
• Business registration documents
• Identification documents
• Other information reasonably required for business verification

Verification information is used solely for purposes including verifying businesses, preventing fraud, maintaining platform integrity, and complying with applicable legal obligations.

Retention of verification documents

Once a business has been successfully verified, CAC registration documents and identification information collected specifically for verification purposes will be retained for 21 days after verification and then deleted.

Where information contained in those documents is also required for another legitimate purpose, such information may be retained separately for the applicable retention period.

When you use Ducent’s transaction features, we may collect information relating to transactions, including:

• The parties involved
• The business involved
• Transaction status
• Items or services associated with the transaction
• Transaction dates and timestamps
• Transaction evidence submitted through Ducent
• Dispute information
• Reviews and ratings associated with transactions

Transaction information may be used to facilitate transactions, resolve disputes, maintain platform integrity, and improve trust between users and businesses.

Ducent may use transaction information, reviews, ratings, disputes, and other relevant platform activity to help establish trust between users and businesses.

We may use this information to detect and prevent:

• Fraudulent activity
• Fake reviews
• Manipulated ratings
• Fraudulent transactions
• Spam
• Abuse
• Attempts to manipulate trust-related systems

Information associated with reviews, ratings, transactions, and trust systems may be visible to other users where this is part of the functionality of the Service.

When you use Ducent, we may automatically collect limited technical information necessary to operate and secure the Service, including:

• IP address
• Browser type
• Device type
• Operating system
• Application version
• Technical logs
• Dates and times of activity
• Error and diagnostic information

This information may be used for security, troubleshooting, fraud prevention, and maintaining the reliability of the Service.

Ducent currently does not collect precise device location information.

Users and businesses may voluntarily provide location information, such as the location of a business, as part of their account or business profile.

If Ducent introduces precise location functionality in the future, we will update this Privacy Policy and provide any notices or permissions required by applicable law.

We may use your information to:

Provide and operate Ducent

Including to:

• Create and manage accounts
• Authenticate users
• Maintain user and business profiles
• Facilitate business discovery
• Provide search functionality
• Facilitate transactions
• Process reviews and ratings
• Process disputes and reports
• Provide customer support

Protect Ducent and its users

Including to:

• Detect fraud
• Prevent abuse
• Detect suspicious activity
• Protect accounts
• Investigate disputes
• Prevent manipulation of reviews and trust systems
• Enforce our Terms and policies

Communicate with you

We may use your email address and phone number to send:

• One-time passwords (OTPs)
• Authentication messages
• Security notifications
• Transaction notifications
• Account-related communications
• Service announcements
• Customer support communications

Ducent may use email and SMS services to deliver one-time passwords and other authentication messages.

We currently use Brevo’s SMTP services for email delivery.

We may use third-party SMS providers to deliver SMS authentication messages.

These providers may process your email address, phone number, authentication messages, and related technical information as necessary to deliver the requested communication.

Where applicable, we process personal information on lawful bases recognized under applicable data protection law. These may include:

• Performing a contract with you
• Complying with legal obligations
• Your consent
• Legitimate interests where permitted by law
• Protecting the security and integrity of Ducent
• Preventing fraud and abuse

Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw your consent where applicable.

Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

Ducent is a business discovery platform.

Businesses may intentionally publish information that is made available to other users or the public, including:

• Business name
• Business description
• Business category
• Business location
• Business contact information
• Public social media handles
• Business ratings
• Reviews
• Other information intentionally published by the business

Businesses are responsible for ensuring that information they provide to Ducent is accurate and that they have the necessary rights or permissions to provide it.

Zigna does not sell your account information or personal information.

We may share information only where reasonably necessary to operate Ducent, provide requested services, protect users, or comply with legal obligations.

Service Providers

We may use third-party providers for services such as:

• Email delivery
• SMS delivery
• Cloud hosting
• Database infrastructure
• Image and file storage
• Security and infrastructure services

These providers may process information on our behalf and are expected to process it only for authorized purposes.

Other Users and Businesses

Certain information may be shared with other Ducent users when necessary for the functionality of the Service. For example, information relating to a transaction may be visible to the other party involved in that transaction.

Legal Requirements

We may disclose information where reasonably necessary to:

• Comply with applicable law
• Respond to lawful legal or regulatory requests
• Prevent or investigate fraud
• Protect the rights, property, or safety of Zigna, Ducent, users, or others
• Enforce our agreements and policies

Business Transfers

If Zigna or Ducent is involved in a merger, acquisition, restructuring, financing, sale of assets, or similar transaction, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to applicable law.

Some of our service providers may process information outside Nigeria.

Where personal information is transferred outside Nigeria, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that the transfer complies with applicable data protection requirements and that appropriate safeguards are in place.

Ducent currently uses cookies primarily for session management and authentication.

These cookies help us:

• Keep you signed in
• Maintain your authenticated session
• Protect authenticated areas of the Service
• Maintain the functionality of the Service

We currently do not use cookies for advertising or selling personal information.

If our use of cookies changes, we will update this Privacy Policy and, where required, provide additional notice or obtain consent.

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, including to:

• Provide the Service
• Maintain account records
• Maintain transaction records
• Prevent fraud and abuse
• Resolve disputes
• Enforce our agreements
• Comply with legal obligations
• Maintain necessary security and operational records

Deleted accounts

Ducent currently uses soft deletion for user accounts.

When an account is deleted, it is marked as deleted rather than immediately and permanently removed from our systems. Deleted account information may be retained for up to five (5) years following account deletion for purposes including fraud prevention, dispute resolution, legal compliance, security, and maintaining necessary business records.

After the applicable retention period, information will be permanently deleted or anonymized, subject to any legal requirement requiring further retention.

Business verification information

CAC registration documents and identification documents collected specifically for business verification are deleted 21 days after successful verification, subject to the exceptions described in Section 3.

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, loss, destruction, or misuse.

These measures may include:

• Encryption in transit
• Access controls
• Authentication controls
• Secure credential management
• Rate limiting
• Security monitoring
• Logging
• Infrastructure security
• Regular software and security updates
• Backup and recovery procedures

However, no internet-based service can guarantee absolute security.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and should contact us immediately if you believe your account has been compromised.

Ducent is not intended for minors.

You must meet the minimum age requirement applicable to use Ducent in your jurisdiction.

We do not knowingly permit minors to create or maintain accounts on Ducent.

If we become aware that a minor has created an account in violation of this requirement, we may take appropriate steps to suspend or remove the account.

Subject to applicable law and any applicable limitations, you may have rights including the right to:

• Request access to personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate information
• Request deletion where applicable
• Request restriction of certain processing
• Object to certain processing
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
• Request information about how your personal information is processed
• Exercise other rights available under applicable data protection law

To exercise your rights, contact: privacy@ducent.ng

We may need to verify your identity before processing certain requests.

You may request deletion of your Ducent account by contacting us at: privacy@ducent.ng

Because Ducent uses soft deletion, account deletion does not necessarily mean that all associated information is immediately and permanently erased.

Information may remain in our systems for up to five years after account deletion where necessary for legitimate purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

Ducent uses selected third-party service providers to operate parts of the Service.

These providers may include providers for:

• Email delivery
• SMS delivery
• Hosting
• Infrastructure
• Storage
• Security

Third-party providers may have their own privacy policies governing how they process information.

We encourage you to review the privacy policies of relevant third-party services where appropriate.

Ducent may contain links to websites, applications, or services operated by third parties.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices, security, or content of third-party services.

You should review the privacy policies of third-party services before providing them with personal information.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to:

• Ducent’s services
• Our data processing practices
• Technology
• Security practices
• Applicable laws and regulations

When we make material changes, we may provide notice through the Service or by other appropriate means.

The Last Updated date at the beginning of this Privacy Policy indicates when it was most recently revised.

If you have questions, concerns, complaints, or requests relating to your privacy or personal information, contact us:

Zigna

Address: Lagos, Nigeria

Privacy Email: privacy@ducent.ng

We will make reasonable efforts to respond to privacy requests within the period required by applicable law.

If you are not satisfied with how your personal information has been handled, you may also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority, including the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC).

This Privacy Policy is effective from August 31, 2026.

By using Ducent after this date, you acknowledge that you have had an opportunity to review this Privacy Policy and understand how your personal information is processed as described above.