From registration to your first successful transaction, as quickly as possible.

1

Create Your Personal Account

Sign up using your email address or Google account. Verify your email to activate your account.

2

Create Your Business Profile

Enter your company name, registration number, industry, and location. Write a clear, honest business description; this is the first thing potential clients and partners will read.

Upload your company logo and add your main products or services. A strong first impression starts here.

3

Submit for Verification

Upload the required business documents. Our team will review your application and assess your business against our verification standards, including your track record, service history, and industry compliance.

You will receive status updates throughout the process. Most applications are reviewed within 1–3 business days.

4

Complete Your Storefront

Once verified, invest time in building out your storefront fully. Add rich service descriptions, high-quality images, examples of past work, and clear pricing where applicable.

Businesses with complete profiles consistently attract more opportunities. This is your shop window; make it count.

5

Start Engaging

You are ready. Browse businesses in the Marketplace, post a project, or send a Request for Quotation to businesses that interest you. Use the in-platform messaging to discuss requirements before committing to anything.

💡  After Verification, Quick Wins

Update your services and pricing to reflect your current offerings.

Add high-quality photos and examples of past work to your profile.

Explore open projects in the Marketplace and start sending proposals.

Set your response time expectations; businesses that respond quickly win more work.

What we check, what to prepare, and what happens after you submit it.

💡  Tips for Fast Verification

Make sure all documents are clear, legible, and match your registered company name exactly.

Use your official company email address when registering.

Complete your business description and services list before submitting, a well-prepared profile speeds up the review.

Respond promptly if our team reaches out for additional information.

Include strong evidence of past work. The more we can see about what your business has delivered, the faster the process moves.

⚠  Important

Businesses that are not yet verified can still create profiles and explore the platform. However, posting projects, submitting proposals, and receiving payments are only available to verified businesses.

How to find the right businesses, explore storefronts, and request quotations.

🔍

Search and Filter

Find businesses by industry, service type, location, or community. Use filters to narrow results to exactly what you are looking for.

🏪

Browse Business Storefronts

Each verified business has a full storefront showing their services, past work, photos, descriptions, and reviews. You can assess a business thoroughly before making contact.

⭐

Check Reviews and Track Records

Every business carries a review history built from real transactions on the platform. Use this to inform your decisions before engaging.

🌍

Filter by Community

Looking specifically for Zimbabwean businesses, or businesses from another diaspora community? You can filter by nationality to find businesses within your network.

💡  Best Practices in the Marketplace

Complete your own storefront before you start browsing. Businesses you contact will look at your profile too.

When sending a Request for Quotation, be as specific as possible-timelines, budget range, location, and scope. Clear briefs attract better proposals.

Check reviews before engaging. A business with a strong review history is a lower-risk partner.

Respond to messages promptly. Good communication builds confidence on both sides of a deal.

How to build a strong presence, earn trust, and grow your business on ShokaConnect.

💡  The Bottom Line

ShokaConnect works best for businesses that show up with integrity, deliver on their promises, and treat the platform as a long-term investment, not a quick win.

Trust is the currency here. Earn it, and the platform will work hard for you.

How to post projects, manage milestones, and transact safely.

1

Create Your Project

Click “Post a Project” and fill in the project title, a clear description of what you need, your budget range, and key details, including location, timeline, and scope. Be as specific as you can. Vague projects attract vague proposals.

2

Receive and Review Proposals

Proposals from interested verified businesses come directly to your project dashboard. Review each one, compare pricing and approach, and use in-platform messaging to ask questions before making a decision.

3

Award the Project

When you find the right fit, award the project to your chosen business. From here, you set up milestones, clear, agreed delivery points that structure the project and protect both sides.

4

Track Progress and Release Payment

As milestones are completed, you review and approve delivery. Payment is only released once you are satisfied. Every approval is tracked and documented on the platform.

⚠  Stay On Platform

We strongly encourage you to use ShokaConnect’s built-in tools, milestones, messaging, documentation, and escrow, throughout the entire project.

Moving a project off-platform removes all protections for both parties. If something goes wrong outside the platform, we cannot help.

Understanding your balance, payouts, and how money moves on the platform.

📊

Transaction History

See a full, itemised record of every payment received, milestone released, and withdrawal made, with timestamps and project references.

💳

Withdrawals

Transfer your available balance to your linked business bank account at any time, subject to minimum withdrawal amounts.

🔒

Escrow Visibility

See exactly how much is currently held in escrow for active projects and what is pending release. No surprises.

⚠  Important

Ensure your business bank account details are correctly entered and verified in your profile settings before your first withdrawal.

The platform fee is deducted at the point of transaction completion, before funds are moved to your wallet. Your wallet balance always reflects what is available to you after fees.

How we handle disagreements fairly, transparently, and with full documentation.

1

Raise a Dispute

Either party can raise a dispute directly from the project page. Provide a clear description of the issue, along with any supporting evidence, messages, photos, milestone records, and any agreements made on the platform.

2

The Other Party Responds

The other party is notified immediately and has 5 business days to respond with their account of the situation and any supporting documentation.

3

ShokaConnect Mediates

Our mediation team reviews the full case, including all platform communications, milestone records, and submitted evidence. We aim to complete our review within 48 to 72 hours of receiving both sides.

4

Resolution

We facilitate a fair resolution based on the evidence and the agreed terms of the project. Both parties are informed of the outcome and the reasoning behind it.

5

Escalation (If Needed)

If a resolution cannot be reached through mediation, the case can be escalated to our escrow partner’s formal dispute resolution process, which provides an additional layer of independent oversight.

💡  How to Avoid Disputes

Write clear, specific milestone descriptions before work begins. Ambiguity is the most common cause of disagreements.

Communicate regularly during the project and keep all discussions on the platform, this creates a documented record.

Upload all agreements, scope changes, and amendments through the platform. A verbal agreement has no standing in a dispute.

If something feels off mid-project, raise it immediately through messaging rather than waiting until the end.