Eligibility. Self-attested. Auto-published. Flagable.
The Buy Itsekiri directory is open to any Itsekiri-owned business anywhere in the world. We do not gatekeep. Submissions auto-publish to the directory the moment you hit submit — but every listing attests to the five criteria below, and the Pillar 03 chair keeps a flag-and-remove role for clearly ineligible listings. This page is the rulebook.
Open to all Itsekiri owners — Nigeria + diaspora.
We accept business listings from anywhere in the world, as long as at least one principal of the business is of Itsekiri heritage. The point is to promote business opportunities and relationships across the Itsekiri community — that includes Warri, Sapele, Koko, Lagos, and beyond, alongside every diaspora metro.
- Nigeria-based businesses — Delta State, Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, anywhere
- U.S. diaspora — all 8 chartered Regions and non-chartered states
- UK, Canada, Europe, Middle East — anywhere Itsekiri operate
- Online-only businesses — global service businesses welcome
Five rules. Public. Applied identically to every submission.
- At least one principal/co-founder is Itsekiri. Self-attested at submission, with family name, town of origin in Iwere Land, and (optionally) the name of an INC-USA member or recognized Itsekiri community figure who can vouch.
- The business is real and operating. Verifiable contact information — real address (or an online presence with a clear social/web identity), real phone or email.
- The business is lawful in its jurisdiction. We do not list businesses operating outside the law of the country in which they trade.
- No hate, harassment, or misleading content. Listing copy must be truthful and respectful of the community.
- (Spotlight + Marquee tiers only) ≥51% Itsekiri ownership and at least one Region member or recognized Patron as a principal — to keep premium-promoted businesses authentic at scale.
That’s it. No other gatekeeping criteria. If you meet the five rules, you qualify.
Instant publish. Editable. Flag-removable.
- Auto-publish. The moment you hit submit on the form, your Community-tier listing appears in the directory. Paid tiers continue to Stripe checkout; the listing page exists immediately and the premium badge / priority slot turns on the moment the subscription is active.
- Confirmation email. You receive an email with a reference ID and the public URL of your listing. Reply to that email anytime to edit your listing.
- Edit anytime. Description, hours, contact, category — all editable by writing to business@itsekirinationalcongress.org. A self-serve edit dashboard lands at Convention 2026.
The community polices the directory together.
We trust submitters to attest truthfully. We also trust the Itsekiri community to flag listings that don’t belong. No committee gate, but a fast removal path:
- Anyone — community member, customer, or partner — can flag a listing through /contact with the listing URL and the reason (one of the five criteria).
- The Pillar 03 chair reviews flags within 72 hours. Listings that clearly violate a published criterion are paused immediately, with a written notice to the listed business.
- If the listed business disputes the removal, they can appeal to the Patrons Council under Article 13 — same path that governs all stewardship disputes.
- Every flag and removal is logged in the audit trail with timestamp, reason, and outcome.
We publish the numbers every quarter.
Every quarter, INC-USA publishes a transparency report showing:
- Total submissions received
- Approved / info-requested / rejected counts
- Appeals filed and outcomes
- Average time-to-decision
- Geographic and category distribution of approved listings
This is published on /about-us/financials alongside our other operating disclosures.
The directory is a community-curated space.
Approved listings remain in good standing as long as:
- The business continues to operate
- Subscription fees (paid tiers) remain current
- No substantiated complaints from community members go unaddressed
- The listing copy stays truthful and current
Listings can be flagged by any community member through /contact for review. Flags trigger the same three-reviewer protocol as the original submission.