Last Updated: March 2026
Legal

Terms & Conditions

These Terms govern your use of Sheba Credit's platform, services, and credit information systems. They are prepared in compliance with the National Bank of Ethiopia's Credit Reference Bureau Directives No. CRB/02/2019.

Section 01

Definitions

In these Terms and Conditions, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings assigned to them below, consistent with the National Bank of Ethiopia Credit Reference Bureau Directives No. CRB/02/2019 CRB/02/2019:

Sheba Credit
Sheba Credit PLC, a company incorporated in Ethiopia, operating a credit information and financial technology platform, headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Platform
The Sheba Credit mobile application, web application, API services, and any related digital or physical services provided by Sheba Credit.
Borrower
Any natural or juridical person applying for new credit, or holding an existing credit account or both, as defined under the NBE Directives.
Credit Information
All information about a borrower, including loan history, repayment behaviour, guarantor information, and other related financial data submitted to or obtained from the credit reference system.
Financial Institution
Any bank, capital goods finance company, or microfinance institution licensed by the National Bank of Ethiopia and registered with the Credit Reference System.
CRaaS
Credit Reporting as a Service — Sheba Credit's B2B API product that enables financial institutions to query credit scores and reports.
Defaulter
A borrower, other than that under export credit guarantee, whose outstanding loans as specified in the Data Standardisation Manual have been classified as "substandard," "doubtful," and/or "loss" in accordance with applicable NBE directives.
National Bank
The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), the regulatory authority governing credit reference bureau operations in Ethiopia.
User
Any individual consumer, borrower, guarantor, or representative of a financial institution accessing the Sheba Credit platform.
Section 02

Scope of Services

Sheba Credit provides credit information, financial literacy, and open banking services to consumers and financial institutions operating in Ethiopia. Our services include but are not limited to:

  • Sheba Credit Score — an AI-generated credit score based on alternative and traditional data sources, designed to assess creditworthiness for individuals with limited or no formal credit history.
  • Sheba Save — a savings behaviour monitoring and goal-tracking service that feeds positively into a user's credit profile.
  • Sheba Agri — a farmer credit profiling system using agricultural data, cooperative membership, crop yield, and seasonal payment patterns to generate bankable credit scores for Ethiopia's farming population.
  • Sheba Education — a financial literacy platform available in five Ethiopian languages that awards Education Points redeemable toward credit score improvements.
  • Open Banking Suite — a consented data aggregation service enabling users to share transactional data with participating financial institutions.
  • CRaaS API (B2B) — a credit reporting API for licensed financial institutions to query borrower credit reports in real time.
Regulatory note: Sheba Credit operates in alignment with NBE Directive CRB/02/2019 governing the establishment and operation of Credit Reference Bureaus in Ethiopia. These directives apply to all financial institutions participating in the Sheba Credit system.
Section 03

Eligibility & Registration

To access the Sheba Credit platform as an individual consumer, you must:

  • Be a natural person resident in Ethiopia, or an Ethiopian national residing abroad;
  • Be at least 18 years of age;
  • Provide accurate identification consistent with your Fayda Digital ID, national identification document, or other accepted form of identity verification;
  • Provide a valid mobile number registered in your name.

To access the Sheba Credit platform as a financial institution, you must:

  • Be licensed by the National Bank of Ethiopia as a bank, microfinance institution, or capital goods finance company;
  • Be registered with the Credit Reference System as required under Article 5 of NBE Directive CRB/02/2019;
  • Execute a separate institutional agreement with Sheba Credit prior to accessing the CRaaS API or Open Banking Institutional Suite.

Sheba Credit reserves the right to refuse registration or suspend access at any time where eligibility requirements are not met or where fraudulent information is detected.

Section 05

User Obligations

As a user of the Sheba Credit platform, you agree to:

  • Provide accurate, complete, and up-to-date information at all times and promptly correct any inaccuracies;
  • Use the platform exclusively for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms;
  • Not share your account credentials or access the accounts of other users without authorisation;
  • Not attempt to manipulate, circumvent, or reverse-engineer any aspect of the Sheba Credit scoring model or platform;
  • Not use credit information obtained through Sheba Credit for any purpose other than personal financial management or, in the case of financial institutions, for making legitimate lending decisions;
  • Notify Sheba Credit immediately of any suspected unauthorised access to your account or breach of your personal data.

Users who are found to have submitted false, misleading, or incomplete information may be reported to the National Bank of Ethiopia and relevant authorities in accordance with applicable Ethiopian law.

Section 06

Duties of Participating Financial Institutions

Financial institutions accessing the Sheba Credit platform are bound by NBE Directive CRB/02/2019 and must comply with all duties outlined therein. Key obligations include:

  • Data submission: Institutions must submit accurate, complete, and timely credit information on each and every borrower and guarantor in line with the Data Standardisation Manual and Data Submission Specification;
  • Correction of errors: Where incorrect information has been reported, such inaccuracies shall be corrected as soon as the inaccuracy is detected, and within 5 working days of receipt of instruction for correction by the Credit Reference Bureau;
  • Designated officer: Each institution must appoint a senior officer — preferably heading the credit department — to oversee Credit Reference System operations, and report the officer's name, contact details, and any changes in writing;
  • Confidentiality: Credit information obtained from Sheba Credit may only be used for making lending decisions and periodic portfolio reviews. It shall not be disclosed to any third party or used for any other purpose;
  • Borrower consent: Institutions must obtain written and signed consent from borrowers and guarantors before submitting their data and must provide borrowers and guarantors a copy of their credit information free of charge upon request at the time of credit application;
  • Update frequency: Banks must update credit information at minimum once per month; microfinance institutions and capital goods finance companies once per quarter.
Pre-lending query requirement: Under Article 8 of NBE Directive CRB/02/2019, no financial institution shall extend new, renew, reschedule, or refinance existing loans without first obtaining credit information from the Credit Reference System. This obligation applies to all institutions accessing Sheba Credit's CRaaS API.
Section 07

Credit Decisions & Use of Scores

The Sheba Credit Score is an AI-generated indicator of creditworthiness based on available data. It is provided as a decision-support tool only. Sheba Credit does not make lending decisions and is not responsible for credit decisions made by financial institutions or other parties.

Financial institutions using Sheba Credit data must comply with Article 7.12 of NBE Directive CRB/02/2019, which requires that credit information obtained from the system be used:

  • Only for making lending decisions or account management procedures and periodic portfolio reviews;
  • With utmost confidentiality;
  • Not for any other purpose whatsoever.

Sheba Credit's AI scoring models use explainability tools (SHAP/LIME) to ensure that every score is auditable and every credit factor is documented. Borrowers have the right to request an explanation of the factors that influenced their score.

A low Sheba Credit Score does not constitute a refusal of credit. Final lending decisions remain the sole responsibility of the participating financial institution.

Section 08

Data Retention

Sheba Credit retains credit information in accordance with the mandatory periods set out in NBE Directive CRB/02/2019:

  • Positive credit information — retained for a minimum of 10 years after the date of full settlement of a loan or advance;
  • Negative credit information (defaulted loans) — retained for a maximum of 7 years after the date of full settlement of the defaulted loan or advance;
  • Enquiry records — records of who accessed a borrower's credit report are retained for audit purposes for a minimum of 5 years.

Upon expiry of the applicable retention period, credit information will be deleted or anonymised in a manner that prevents re-identification of the individual. Users may submit a Data Deletion Request through the Sheba Credit app for information that falls outside mandatory retention periods.

Section 09

Complaints Procedure

Sheba Credit is committed to resolving disputes about the accuracy of credit information promptly and fairly, in line with Article 9 of NBE Directive CRB/02/2019.

Step 1 — Raise with your financial institution: A borrower may first submit a complaint in writing to the branch office of the financial institution that initially supplied the disputed information to the Credit Reference System. The financial institution must respond within 5 working days.

Step 2 — Escalate to Sheba Credit: If the borrower is not satisfied with the response, or has not received a response within 5 working days, they may file a written complaint directly with Sheba Credit by emailing disputes@shebacredit.com or writing to our Addis Ababa office. An investigation fee, as determined by the National Bank of Ethiopia, may apply.

Step 3 — Escalate to the National Bank of Ethiopia: If the borrower remains unsatisfied after Sheba Credit's investigation, the matter may be referred to the National Bank of Ethiopia in accordance with applicable directives.

Upon receipt of a written complaint, Sheba Credit shall investigate the matter and respond within 7 working days. Where errors are identified during investigation, corrections will be made within 5 working days of the instruction for correction.

Section 10

Limitation of Liability

In accordance with Article 6.2 of NBE Directive CRB/02/2019, the Credit Reference Bureau shall not be responsible for any damages, claims, or liabilities that may arise as a result of inaccurate, misleading, or incomplete credit information supplied to the system by individual financial institutions.

To the fullest extent permitted by Ethiopian law, Sheba Credit shall not be liable for:

  • Credit decisions made by financial institutions or other third parties based on Sheba Credit data;
  • Loss of income, business opportunity, or credit access arising from a credit score that reflects accurately submitted data;
  • Service interruptions, data transmission failures, or system outages outside Sheba Credit's reasonable control;
  • Inaccurate data submitted by third-party data providers where Sheba Credit has taken reasonable steps to verify data quality.

Nothing in these Terms limits Sheba Credit's liability for fraud, gross negligence, or any liability that cannot be excluded under Ethiopian law.

Section 11

Penalties & Suspension of Access

Financial institutions that violate their obligations under these Terms or the NBE Directive CRB/02/2019 may be subject to the following enforcement actions, as outlined in Article 11 of the Directive:

  • A written warning for a first violation;
  • A financial penalty of ETB 10,000 for banks, ETB 5,000 for capital goods finance companies, and ETB 3,000 for microfinance institutions for a second violation within 12 months;
  • A penalty of ETB 100,000 for banks, ETB 50,000 for capital goods finance companies, and ETB 30,000 for microfinance institutions for a third violation within 12 months;
  • Suspension from using the Credit Reference System for a fourth violation within 12 months.

A suspended financial institution may be reinstated if it has been suspended for at least three months and confirms in writing that it will fully comply with these directives from the date of reinstatement. Any violation following reinstatement will be treated as a subsequent violation under this penalty schedule.

Individual users who provide fraudulent information, attempt to manipulate the system, or violate these Terms may have their accounts suspended or permanently terminated, and may be referred to Ethiopian law enforcement authorities.

Section 12

Governing Law

These Terms and Conditions are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, including:

  • The Banking Business Proclamation No. 592/2008;
  • National Bank of Ethiopia Credit Reference Bureau Directives No. CRB/02/2019;
  • The Ethiopian Personal Data Protection Proclamation (where enacted);
  • Any other applicable directives, regulations, or proclamations issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia.

Any disputes arising under these Terms that cannot be resolved through the complaints procedure in Section 9 shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Section 13

Amendments

Sheba Credit reserves the right to amend these Terms and Conditions at any time to reflect changes in applicable law, NBE directives, or our services. Where changes materially affect users' rights or obligations, we will provide notice through the Sheba Credit app and by email at least 14 days before the changes take effect.

Continued use of the Sheba Credit platform after the effective date of any amendment constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to the revised Terms, you must discontinue use of the platform and contact us to close your account.