RFQ

A request for quotation: a buyer's written request asking suppliers to quote for specified goods, quantities and delivery terms. On B2B.Africa the buyer's RFQ is posted as a sourcing request.

Sourcing request

A buyer's request on B2B.Africa describing what they want to buy, in what quantity and where it must be delivered. The platform matches it to supplier companies that fit.

Suppliers first see a masked version, without the buyer's contact details.

Supply search

A request posted by a supplier on B2B.Africa to find buyers or distributors for its products. It is the supplier-side counterpart to a sourcing request.

Lead credit

A unit that a supplier spends to unlock one matched opportunity on B2B.Africa. One credit unlocks one opportunity.

If the buyer's request is pulled after activation, the credit is refunded.

Unlock

The action of spending a lead credit to see a buyer's contact details for a matched opportunity. After unlocking, the supplier can reply in the platform chat.

Verification ladder

The six-level scale B2B.Africa uses to show how much has been checked about a company: Unclaimed, Claimed, Domain verified, Registration checked, Documents checked and Fully verified.

A level is earned by passing the checks for it and is never sold.

Unclaimed

The lowest ladder level. The organization appears in our data from public sources, and no one from the company has claimed the profile yet.

Claimed

A representative of the organization has claimed the profile and confirmed its basic details. Nothing has yet been independently checked.

Domain verified

The claimant has proven control of the company's own domain, by a DNS record or a file on the company's website. This shows control of the domain, not that the business is legally registered.

Registration checked

Registration is checked when the company provides documents.

Documents checked

Supporting documents — registration certificate, ownership or authorization — are reviewed by our team.

Fully verified

A physical site visit has confirmed that the business operates at its stated address. It is the highest ladder level and is not a default service.

KYB

Know Your Business: the process of confirming that a company is what it says it is, including its registration, ownership and standing. It is the business equivalent of KYC for individuals.

Sanctions screening

Checking a person or organization against official sanctions lists to see whether it is a designated party. On B2B.Africa, every organization we verify is screened against the UNSC list via FIC TFS before its verification status is published.

UNSC consolidated list

The list of individuals and entities subject to sanctions measures imposed by the United Nations Security Council, maintained by the UN. The current list is published on the UN Security Council website.

FIC TFS

Targeted financial sanctions administered by South Africa's Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), which publishes the sanctions list used in South Africa. See the FIC targeted financial sanctions page.

OCDS

The Open Contracting Data Standard: a common data format for publishing public procurement information such as tenders and awards. Details are on the OCDS standard site.

eTenders

South Africa's National Treasury portal for publishing government tender opportunities. B2B.Africa reads its data in OCDS form under the CC BY 4.0 licence. The portal is at etenders.gov.za.

Central Supplier Database (CSD)

The register of suppliers that wish to do business with South African government institutions, run by National Treasury. A supplier generally needs to be registered on it to be paid by government. See csd.gov.za.

B-BBEE

Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment: South Africa's policy framework for broadening economic participation. Companies receive a B-BBEE level that buyers, including government, may take into account when awarding contracts.

PPPFA

The Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act: South African legislation setting how organs of state apply preference points when evaluating tenders. It is why B-BBEE standing often matters in public tenders.

HS code

A Harmonized System code: an internationally standardised number, set by the World Customs Organization, that classifies traded goods. Customs authorities use it to apply duties and statistics.

Incoterms

Standard trade terms published by the International Chamber of Commerce that define who arranges and pays for transport, insurance and customs, and where risk passes from seller to buyer, for example FOB or CIF.

AfCFTA

The African Continental Free Trade Area: a trade agreement among African countries that aims to reduce tariffs and barriers to trade within the continent. Information is published by the AfCFTA Secretariat.

Quick Company Check

A one-time B2B.Africa report: a fast check of one company's public details, domain control and sanctions screening; registration is checked when the company provides documents. Each datapoint carries a source and date. Current price: see the pricing page.

Market Scan

A one-time B2B.Africa report: a shortlist of organizations matching a target market, with a source for each. Current price: see the pricing page.

POPIA

The Protection of Personal Information Act: South Africa's data protection law, which governs how personal information is processed. It is overseen by the Information Regulator.