Kasi Pitching Challenge Terms & Conditions

Kasi Pitching Challenge – Official Terms and Conditions
Issued by Intercessor Army Franchising trading as TEA. Updated 18 October 2026.

Section 1 – Definitions

In these Terms and Conditions, unless the context indicates otherwise:

“TEA” means Intercessor Army Franchising, operating also as the Township Entrepreneurs Agency, and its officers, employees, agents and authorised representatives.

“Competition” means any edition of the Kasi Pitching Challenge administered by TEA, including a local, provincial, national or Grand Finale challenge, as identified in its published Competition Schedule.

“Entrant” / “Participant” means any person who submits a valid entry or qualifies through a previous challenge or other approved process stated in the Competition Schedule.

“Winner” means an eligible Entrant awarded a winning position specified in the Competition Schedule.

“Prize” means the published award value allocated to a Winner, comprising a cash prize component paid directly to approved Suppliers and a business support component, as set out in Section 6 and the Competition Schedule.

“Programme” means the post-award six-month support and monitoring engagement that Winners are obligated to complete.

“POPIA” means the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013, as amended.

“CIPC” means the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission of South Africa.

“Personal Information” has the meaning ascribed to it in POPIA and includes identification documents, bank details, contact information, business registration details, and any other information that can be used to identify a natural or juristic person.

“Intellectual Property” / “IP” means all intellectual property rights, including but not limited to copyright, trademarks, patents, designs, trade secrets, pitch content, video submissions, images, and business ideas submitted or disclosed as part of the Competition.

“Submitted Content” means all materials submitted by an Entrant as part of their application, including the video pitch, business description, supporting documents, and any other materials provided to TEA.

“Supplier” means a third-party provider of approved goods or services for a Winner’s business, verified and approved by TEA to receive payment directly from TEA in fulfilment of the Prize.

“Competition Schedule” means the written schedule published by TEA for a particular Competition stating its format, eligibility area, qualifying method, dates, number of winning places, Prize pool, cash prize and business support allocations and any specific conditions. It forms part of these Terms.

Section 2 – Eligibility Criteria

Participation in the Kasi Pitching Challenge is strictly limited to Entrants who meet ALL of the following criteria at the time of entry and throughout the Competition:

1. The Entrant must be a South African citizen or permanent resident holding a valid South African identity document (green barcoded ID book or smart card ID).
2. The Entrant must be 18 (eighteen) years of age or older and legally competent to enter into binding agreements under South African law.
3. The business must be a CIPC-registered private company or close corporation, or an eligible sole proprietorship able to provide TEA with acceptable proof of ownership and operation.
4. The Entrant must be a director, member or lawful owner of the business at the time of application.
5. The business must have been operating for a minimum of 24 (twenty-four) months, evidenced by registration documents where applicable and supporting proof of active trading.
6. The business must be at least 51% (fifty-one percent) Black-owned, as defined under the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act.
7. The business must provide valid B-BBEE status evidence, including a qualifying micro-enterprise affidavit or certificate where permitted under the applicable B-BBEE Codes of Good Practice.
8. The business must be physically based and actively operating within a recognised South African township, subject to any local, provincial or national restriction published in the Competition Schedule.
9. The following persons are not eligible to participate: employees, contractors, suppliers, judges, stakeholders, board members, and immediate family members of TEA, its sponsors, or any Competition partner.
10. TEA reserves the right to request additional documentation to verify eligibility at any stage of the Competition. Failure to provide requested documents within the stipulated timeframe will result in disqualification.

Section 3 – How to Enter

11. For an open-entry Competition, Entrants must submit a video pitch no longer than 1 (one) minute and no larger than 100 (one hundred) megabytes, unless another entry or qualification process is specified in the Competition Schedule. Grand Finale Entrants may qualify through an earlier challenge.
12. Where a video pitch is required, it must include: (a) a description of the business; (b) the reason the Entrant deserves the opportunity to pitch; and (c) confirmation of eligibility under Section 2.
13. Entrants must confirm their eligibility and provide complete contact information and all required submission materials through the entry link, email address or qualification process communicated by TEA.
14. No late entries will be accepted under any circumstances. The closing date and time for submissions will be communicated by TEA through official channels. TEA’s determination of whether an entry is timeous shall be final.
15. Incomplete entries or entries that do not comply with these Terms will be disqualified without notice.
16. By submitting an entry, the Entrant confirms that all information provided is true, accurate, and complete. Submission of false or misleading information is grounds for immediate disqualification and may result in legal action.

Section 4 – Verification and Background Checks

17. Entrants agree to provide accurate information and any lawful consent or authorisation reasonably required for identity, business and background verification. Checks involving other directors or persons will be conducted subject to applicable law and required authorisation.
18. Verification may include identity checks, criminal record checks where lawfully permitted, credit checks where relevant and authorised, CIPC records, SARS compliance and directorship history.
19. TEA may disqualify an Entrant where verified information shows material fraud, dishonesty or ineligibility. Where reasonably practicable, the Entrant will be given an opportunity to respond before a final decision.
20. Where disqualification occurs after a Prize has been awarded, TEA reserves the right to invoke the claw-back provisions set out in Section 9.

Section 5 – Judging and Selection

21. TEA will appoint a panel of judges whose decisions are final, conclusive, and binding on all Entrants.
22. No correspondence will be entered into regarding judging scores, criteria weighting, or the outcome of any judging decision.
23. Judges will evaluate pitches based on criteria determined by TEA, which may include business viability, social impact, entrepreneur profile, and presentation quality.
24. TEA may make reasonable changes to the judging criteria, panel composition or process to protect the integrity of the Competition. Material changes will be communicated through official channels and must not unfairly prejudice Entrants.
25. If a Winner is disqualified under these Terms, TEA may award the relevant Prize to the next qualifying finalist in the applicable Competition, subject to the Competition Schedule and verification requirements.

Section 6 – Prize Structure

26. The total Prize pool, number of winning positions and the value allocated to each winning position will be published in the Competition Schedule for each Kasi Pitching Challenge, including the Grand Finale. Every Prize consists of the following components:
    1. Cash Prize Component: The majority of each Prize value will be allocated to approved business needs and paid directly by TEA to verified Suppliers for goods or services required by the Winner’s business.
    2. Business Support Component: The balance of each Prize value will be allocated to business support services arranged or approved by TEA, as identified in the Competition Schedule.
    3. Prize Allocation: The Competition Schedule will state the total Prize pool, the number of Winners and the rand value of the cash and business support components for each placing. No fixed percentage or number of winning places applies to every Competition.
27. All cash prize components will be paid directly by TEA to approved third-party Suppliers for verified business purposes. No cash prize payment, reimbursement or unused balance will be paid directly to the Winner or into the Winner’s bank account.
28. The Winner must nominate suitable Suppliers and provide quotations, invoices, supplier banking particulars and evidence of the intended business need. TEA will verify and approve Suppliers and may reject a Supplier or proposed purchase. Any Supplier refund or credit for a TEA-funded purchase must be returned to TEA for appropriate programme administration.
29. TEA will endeavour to pay an approved Supplier within 90 (ninety) calendar days after TEA confirms in writing that all Winner and Supplier documents have been received in good order, eligibility and supplier verification are complete and the proposed purchase has been approved.
30. The 90-day period does not begin on the Winner’s announcement date. Incomplete, incorrect or subsequently changed documents, Suppliers or purchases must be resolved before TEA confirms that the payment requirements have been met. TEA will communicate outstanding requirements to the Winner.
31. TEA may modify or substitute an affected Prize where circumstances beyond its reasonable control prevent fulfilment, subject to applicable law. TEA will notify affected Winners and will seek a reasonably equivalent benefit where practicable.
32. The Prize is not transferable and cannot be exchanged for cash by the Winner. Any unused, declined or refunded cash prize amount remains under TEA’s control and is not payable to the Winner. No interest accrues on delayed Supplier payments.
33. Winners are solely responsible for any income tax, VAT, or other tax obligations arising from receipt of the Prize. TEA does not provide tax advice and bears no liability for the tax treatment of any Prize.

Section 7 – Required Documentation

34. To receive the Prize, Winners must provide all of the following documents to TEA’s satisfaction:
    1. Valid CIPC registration documents or, for an eligible sole proprietorship, acceptable proof of lawful ownership and active trading
    2. Certified copy of the Entrant’s valid South African identity document
    3. Business bank account confirmation, where applicable, for business verification only (see Section 8)
    4. Valid SARS Tax Compliance Status PIN or other tax registration or compliance evidence reasonably required for the business
    5. Proof of business address, such as a lease, municipal account or other address verification accepted by TEA
    6. Customer or Supplier confirmation letters, invoices or other reliable evidence of trading for at least 2 (two) years
    7. Supplier quotation, appropriate invoice and banking verification details, proof of the proposed purchase and any other documents reasonably requested by TEA
35. Winners must submit complete required documentation within 30 (thirty) calendar days of notification, unless TEA grants an extension in writing. Failure to comply after written notice may result in forfeiture and the Prize being awarded to the next qualifying finalist.

Section 8 – Banking and Payment Device Requirements

36. Winners must provide suitable banking information for business verification where reasonably required by TEA. No Winner is required under these Terms to open an account with any particular bank. Cash prize components are paid directly to approved Suppliers, not to the Winner.
37. Where a payment device forms part of the published business support package, the Winner must cooperate with reasonable setup, receipt and activation requirements communicated by TEA.
38. TEA will arrange the supply of any payment device included in the Competition Schedule and will pay an approved Supplier directly or arrange a separately funded supply. TEA will not deposit a payment device allowance or reimbursement into the Winner’s account.
39. A payment device and any other funded goods must be delivered to the verified business address or another address approved by TEA. The Winner must confirm receipt in writing and provide proof of delivery and photographs of the goods or device as reasonably requested.
40. The provision, value and conditions of any payment device or other business support benefit will be stated in the applicable Competition Schedule. No bank or payment services provider is automatically prescribed by these Terms.

Section 9 – Claw-Back and Forfeiture

41. TEA may suspend outstanding Prize benefits, discontinue business support and, where legally recoverable, claim repayment of the value of Supplier payments or other benefits already provided where:
    1. a Winner is found to have provided false, misleading or fraudulent information at any stage of the Competition;
    2. a Winner commits a material breach of these Terms, including misuse of funded goods or persistent non-compliance with Programme obligations after written notice;
    3. a material finding of fraud or dishonesty is established against the Winner or a director of the business during the Programme period and is directly relevant to the Prize;
    4. the business ceases to operate or is deregistered during the Programme period without notifying TEA in writing, where this materially defeats the purpose of the Prize.
42. TEA will communicate any proposed claw-back to the Winner in writing, explaining the grounds and calculation, and allow 14 (fourteen) calendar days for a response. TEA will consider the response before issuing a reasoned final decision. Supplier refunds must be returned directly to TEA.
43. Any legally recoverable claw-back amount shall be payable within 30 (thirty) days of written demand. Interest, where lawfully recoverable, may accrue thereafter at the prevailing South African prime lending rate plus 2%.

Section 10 – Post-Award Programme Obligations

44. Winners are required to participate in a mandatory 6 (six) month post-award support and monitoring programme, commencing within 30 days of Prize disbursement.
45. During the Programme, Winners must submit a monthly report by the 28th of each month via email to projects@JoinUsForTEA.co.za and info@JoinUsForTEA.co.za Each report must include:
    1. current number of employees
    2. sales pipeline overview
    3. new contracts and the monetary value thereof
    4. business challenges encountered
    5. new innovations or developments
46. Failure to submit two or more consecutive monthly reports without prior written notice to TEA will constitute a material breach of these Terms and may trigger the claw-back provisions in Section 9.
47. TEA may conduct site visits and request additional information for monitoring and evaluation purposes. Winners agree to cooperate with reasonable requests within 7 (seven) business days.
48. Participation in the Programme does not create an employment, partnership, joint venture, or agency relationship between the Winner and TEA.

Section 11 – Intellectual Property and Media Rights

49. By submitting an entry, each Entrant (whether or not they win) grants TEA an irrevocable, royalty-free, perpetual, worldwide licence to use, publish, reproduce, edit, adapt, translate, sublicense, and distribute all Submitted Content – including video pitches, photographs, business descriptions, and recordings – across all media formats and platforms, whether now known or hereafter developed, for purposes including but not limited to: marketing, sponsorship reporting, public relations, broadcast, social media, and archiving.
50. This licence extends to TEA’s sponsors, partners, co-organisers, and authorised third parties. TEA may sublicense the Submitted Content to these parties for the same purposes.
51. TEA shall own copyright in all recordings, photographs, and audio-visual material created by TEA or its agents at Competition events, regardless of whether the Entrant appears in such materials.
52. Entrants retain ownership of the underlying business idea they pitch. However, TEA and its partners are under no obligation of confidentiality in respect of any business idea disclosed as part of an Entrant’s submission, and TEA accepts no liability for any disclosure of such ideas to third parties. Entrants are encouraged to take independent steps to protect any proprietary ideas or trade secrets before submission.
53. Entrants consent to their name, image, voice, likeness, and business information being used by TEA in promotional, educational, and media materials for an indefinite period, globally.
54. Winners specifically acknowledge that TEA and its media partners may publicise the Competition outcome across digital, print, television, and radio platforms, and consent to such publication without further compensation.

Section 12 – Data Protection and Privacy (POPIA)

55. TEA is the responsible party (as defined in POPIA) in respect of all Personal Information collected from Entrants. TEA’s Information Officer can be contacted at: admin@JoinUsForTEA.co.za.
56. TEA collects and processes Personal Information for the following lawful purposes:
    1. assessing and verifying eligibility for the Competition;
    2. conducting background checks and identity verification;
    3. administering Prize payments and Supplier transactions;
    4. fulfilling Programme monitoring and evaluation obligations;
    5. promotional, public relations, and sponsorship reporting activities;
    6. legal and regulatory compliance.
57. Personal Information may be shared with the following categories of third parties, solely for the purposes listed above:
    1. Competition judges and evaluation panellists;
    2. Corporate sponsors and authorised programme partners where necessary for the stated Competition purposes and subject to applicable law;
    3. Verification and background check service providers;
    4. Suppliers nominated for Prize payment;
    5. Media and PR partners for published Competition outcomes;
    6. Regulatory authorities where required by law.
58. TEA will retain Personal Information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the Competition, Programme, audits and applicable legal obligations, after which it will be securely destroyed or de-identified unless longer retention is legally required.
59. Entrants have the right to: (a) request access to their Personal Information held by TEA; (b) request correction of inaccurate information; (c) object to processing in certain circumstances; and (d) lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa (inforeg@justice.gov.za).
60. TEA implements reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect Personal Information from loss, unauthorised access, and unlawful processing.

Section 13 – Confidentiality and Non-Disparagement

61. Entrants agree to keep confidential any non-public information about the Competition, its judging criteria, internal processes, or sponsor arrangements that may come to their attention during the Competition.
62. Winners agree, during the Programme and for 12 (twelve) months thereafter, not to publish knowingly false or malicious statements about TEA, its sponsors, partners or Programme participants. This does not restrict lawful complaints or truthful reporting.
63. Nothing in this Section prevents truthful statements, good-faith reports to regulators or law enforcement, or the lawful exercise of rights.

Section 14 – Limitation of Liability and Force Majeure

64. TEA’s total aggregate liability to any Entrant arising from or in connection with the Competition, whether in contract, delict, or otherwise, shall not exceed the value of the Prize applicable to that Entrant’s placing, or R0.00 (zero rand) for non-winning Entrants.
65. TEA shall not be liable for: (a) any indirect, consequential, or special loss or damage; (b) loss of profits or business opportunity arising from participation in or exclusion from the Competition; (c) technical failures in submission platforms; or (d) any act or omission of a Supplier, partner, or third party.
66. TEA reserves the right to cancel, postpone, suspend, or materially modify the Competition at any time in the event of circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to: load-shedding or extended power outages, natural disaster, pandemic, regulatory intervention, sponsor withdrawal, civil unrest, or any event of force majeure. TEA shall not be liable to Entrants for any loss arising from such cancellation or modification.
67. In the event of Competition cancellation after Winners have been announced but before Prizes are paid, TEA will use reasonable endeavours to fulfil Prize obligations but shall not be obligated to do so where fulfilment is rendered impossible by the force majeure event.

Section 15 – General Provisions

68. These Terms and Conditions are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa.
69. Any dispute arising from or in connection with these Terms that cannot be resolved by mutual agreement shall be referred to binding arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration Act 42 of 1965, before a single arbitrator appointed by the parties or, failing agreement, by the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA). The seat of arbitration shall be Johannesburg, Gauteng.
70. Nothing in these Terms creates an employment, partnership, joint venture, or agency relationship between TEA and any Entrant or Winner.
71. These Terms, together with the relevant published Competition Schedule and any additional conditions expressly incorporated into it, constitute the agreement between TEA and each Entrant regarding that Competition.
72. If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid, unlawful, or unenforceable, that provision shall be severed and the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.
73. TEA may amend these Terms where reasonably necessary and lawful, with amendments communicated through official channels. Material changes will not retrospectively remove an awarded Prize entitlement except as expressly permitted by these Terms and applicable law.
74. By entering the Competition, each Entrant confirms that they have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms in their entirety.

Section 16 – Acceptance and Declaration

By submitting an entry to the Kasi Pitching Challenge or accepting a qualifying place in the Grand Finale, I, the undersigned Entrant, confirm and declare that:

• I meet all eligibility criteria set out in Section 2 of these Terms.
• All information and documents I have provided are true, accurate, and complete.
• I consent to TEA collecting and processing my Personal Information as described in Section 12.
• I grant TEA the IP and media licence described in Section 11.
• I understand that cash prize components are paid directly to approved Suppliers and cannot be withdrawn by me.
• I have read and agree to these Terms and the published Competition Schedule, including the six-month post-award Programme obligations.

Intercessor Army Franchising trading as TEA | projects@JoinUsForTEA.co.za