Made in Ethiopia is an online marketplace that connects shoppers with verified Ethiopian vendors. We are based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect when you browse the shop, create an account, apply as a vendor, contact support, or place an order — and how we use that information.

This policy applies to the Made in Ethiopia website and related customer, vendor, and support experiences we operate. It does not cover independent websites of vendors, carriers, or payment apps you may leave our site to use.

We collect information you provide and information needed to operate the marketplace securely:

• Account information: first name, last name, email address, and password. Passwords are stored only as irreversible hashes — we cannot read your password. New accounts must confirm their email address before signing in.
• Profile preferences: optional profile photo and your preferred display currency (for example ETB, USD, EUR, or GBP).
• Order and delivery details: recipient name, email, phone number, delivery address (local Ethiopia or international), and optional delivery notes.
• Payment-related details needed to start checkout (such as name, email, and phone shared with our payment provider). Full card or bank credentials are entered on the payment provider’s secure pages — we do not store full payment card numbers on our servers.
• Vendor application and seller profile details: business name, contact details, location, category and product plans, and documents or notes you submit for verification.
• Special-request details when you ask for a custom product quote.
• Support messages you send through our contact form (name, email, optional order number, and message).
• Technical and security data needed to run and protect the service (for example session information, approximate location derived from network headers for currency defaults, device/browser metadata, and limited operational records of security-sensitive actions).

We use cookies and browser storage that are necessary for the shop to work:

• Signed-in session cookies so you stay logged in securely.
• A currency preference cookie so your chosen display currency is remembered.
• Short-lived browser storage for shopping cart and checkout drafts on your device.

We use personal information to:

• Create, maintain, and secure your account (including email verification and password reset emails).
• Show prices in your preferred currency and process checkout.
• Take payment through our payment provider, confirm orders, and support fulfillment.
• Send transactional emails such as order confirmations and order status updates.
• Review vendor applications, enable approved sellers to manage listings and shipments, and coordinate multi-vendor orders.
• Respond to support requests and resolve delivery or product issues.
• Protect the marketplace against fraud, abuse, and unauthorized use, and to meet legal obligations.

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only as needed to operate the marketplace:

• Payment processing: checkout is completed with Chapa, which processes your payment according to its own terms and privacy notices.
• Email delivery: transactional messages (such as password resets and order updates) are sent through our email delivery provider.
• Exchange-rate services: we may obtain rate data from third-party providers so catalog amounts can be shown in other currencies. Those services receive the technical requests needed to return rates — not your full account profile.
• Vendors: sellers receive the order and shipping information required to prepare and ship their portion of an order.
• Service operators and professional advisers who help us run the platform, under confidentiality obligations where appropriate.
• Authorities when required by law or to protect rights, safety, and the integrity of the service.

Made in Ethiopia is operated from Ethiopia and serves customers in many countries. Your information may be processed in Ethiopia and in other countries where our trusted service providers operate. Where we transfer data, we do so to provide the service you requested and to keep the marketplace running.

We keep account, order, and vendor records for as long as needed to provide the service, handle disputes, meet bookkeeping and legal requirements, and protect against fraud. Support messages and security records are kept for a reasonable period and then deleted or minimized when no longer needed. You may ask us to delete your account; we may retain limited information when we must (for example completed order history required for legal or financial records).

We use appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect personal information, including encrypted transport (HTTPS), hashed passwords, access controls for staff tools, and payment handling through a specialized payment provider. No online service can guarantee absolute security; please choose a strong unique password and keep your login details private.

Depending on applicable law, you may request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal information we hold about you, or ask questions about how it is used. You can update basic profile details in your account, change your display currency at any time, and sign out to end your session.

To make a privacy request, use our contact page or email hello@madeinethiopia.com and include enough detail for us to verify and respond. We handle these requests manually and will reply as soon as reasonably possible.

The marketplace is intended for adults. You must be old enough under your local law to form a binding contract (and at least 18 years old) to create an account or place an order. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

We may update this Privacy Policy as the marketplace evolves. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page will change when we do. Continued use of the service after an update means you acknowledge the revised policy.

Privacy questions and data requests: use the contact page on this website, or email hello@madeinethiopia.com. Postal correspondence may be directed to Made in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.