Terms & Official Rules

Who we are

LO (“Lowest. Unique. Wins.”) is run by LO Africa, Ethiopia. These terms apply to the LO app for Android and iOS, the website at loafrica.net and the LO Telegram bot and Mini App. By creating an account you agree to them and to our Privacy Policy. Questions: [email protected].

Free to enter in the app

Every prize in the LO app for Android and iOS is free to bid on. You never pay to place a bid in the app, and no purchase or payment of any kind makes you more likely to win. Prizes are provided by sponsors.

LO offers paid competitions only where it holds the licences and approvals the law requires, never in the LO app, and each one states its own price before you take part.

Who can take part

• You must be 18 or older. You can bid from anywhere.
• You need a mobile number that is yours, from any country. Ethiopian numbers get their sign-in code by SMS, WhatsApp or Telegram; numbers from other countries get it by WhatsApp or Telegram.
• One account per person. The name and date of birth you give must be your own, because a prize belongs only to the person they identify.
• Staff of LO Africa, and of the sponsor of a prize, may not bid on that prize.

How a competition works

1. Each prize page shows the closing time and how many bids you may place on it. A bid is an amount, from 1.00 up to the highest amount the prize allows, with as many decimal places as the prize allows.
2. Each accepted bid gets a numbered receipt. A placed bid cannot be changed. It leaves the draw only if its payment is refunded (see Refunds).
3. Bidding closes at the stated time. The closing time is LO's server clock, with no grace period: a bid received at or after it is refused. LO may pause bidding if something needs checking: bids already placed stay, and the closing time does not move. See how the winner is worked out.
4. The winner is whoever placed the lowest amount that was bid exactly once. An amount bid more than once, by anyone (including two bids by the same person), cannot win, however low. If no amount was bid exactly once, there is no winner and the prize is not awarded in that competition.
5. Because only one bid can be the lowest unique amount, there are no ties: each competition has one prize and at most one winner.
6. After closing, the result and the full list of receipts are published and checked independently. You can check the result on your own phone: the app re-computes every receipt.

Winning and receiving a prize

• We tell you in the app (and by push notice, if you allow them) when you win.
• To receive the prize, open your claim and pass an identity check that matches the name and date of birth on your account. Complete the claim within the period shown in the app (30 days unless the prize page says otherwise); after that the prize lapses.
• Prizes are handed over in Ethiopia only, at the address in Ethiopia you give in your claim. If you live abroad, name someone there to receive it for you: they sign for it and are photographed at handover. LO does not ship prizes outside Ethiopia.
• The prize is the item described on the prize page. It cannot be exchanged for cash or for a different item, and it cannot be transferred to another person; someone who receives it for you holds it for you, it stays yours.
• LO never asks for payment to release a prize. Anyone who does is not LO: report them to [email protected].
• We publish your name, city and photo as a winner only if you agree in writing, and you can withdraw that agreement.

Refunds

• A payment that placed a bid is refunded only whole, and the refund withdraws the bid. This is possible only while bidding is open or paused. A withdrawn bid stays on the published list but does not count.
• After bidding closes, a placed bid can't be refunded, unless the competition is cancelled.
• A payment that did not place a bid, arrived after its checkout expired, or was the wrong amount is refunded for the amount LO received.
• Money goes back the way it came. Two LO staff approve each refund. Ask through Help.

Cancellation

LO cancels a competition only if it can't run fairly or its prize can't be provided, and only with the approval of its compliance officer. A cancelled competition has no winner, and every payment for it can be refunded whole.

Taxes

Any tax the law applies to a prize is handled as the law requires. [For counsel: state who pays, and any withholding, per prize category.]

Invite a friend and Lucky Spin

• Where offered: when a friend signs up with your invite and places their first paid bid within 30 days, you earn one spin. A spin gives a coupon for one prize, with a highest bid and an end date shown on it.
• Coupons can't be exchanged for money or transferred. The chance of each prize and the program's total budget are set before it starts; when the budget is used, spins stop.
• If the friend's bid is refunded, or the invite is found to be fraudulent, the unused spin or coupon is cancelled.

Fair play

To keep results fair we may refuse a bid, cancel bids or an account, or withhold a prize if someone uses more than one account, uses another person's identity or number, automates bidding, colludes with others, or tries to interfere with LO's systems. Where we do, we tell you why unless the law prevents us.

A hold on your account rests on a stated reason and stops bids and prize delivery while it lasts. It forfeits nothing by itself. You can appeal under Help, and someone other than the person who placed it decides.

Your account

Keep your phone and your sign-in codes to yourself; anyone holding them can act as you. You can sign out of every device, and ask us to delete your account at any time by writing to [email protected]. See the account deletion page for what is erased and what is kept.

Google and Apple

Competitions on LO are run by LO Africa alone. Google and Apple are not sponsors of any LO competition and are not involved in running it in any way.

Responsibility

We run LO with care, but we cannot promise it will always be available. If a fault on our side means a bid you placed was not counted, we will put it right or cancel the competition. Nothing in these terms limits rights you have under Ethiopian consumer law.

Changes and disputes

If we change these terms, we update this page and its date and tell you in the app before the change applies; a change never affects a competition that is already open. These terms are governed by the laws of Ethiopia. Raise a complaint or dispute under Help, or write to [email protected]: we answer within 2 days and aim to close it within 14. We keep what a dispute needs until it is closed.