Terms & Conditions

Global Centers for Entrepreneurship B.V. (“GCE”) is a private limited liability company incorporated under Dutch law, with its registered seat in the Netherlands. These Terms & Conditions apply exclusively to business customers, including companies, startups, scale-ups, investors, partners, members and affiliated entities (“Client”). Consumers are explicitly excluded.

GCE provides AI-based dealmaking and matchmaking, introductions, screening, advisory services, strategic guidance, training programs, memberships, events, digital tools, community access, revenue-share models, licensing and facilitation of local entrepreneurship centers. All services are facilitative in nature.

GCE is not a party to any agreement concluded between Clients, members, partners, investors, developers or other third parties, unless explicitly agreed otherwise in writing. All such agreements are entered into at the sole risk and responsibility of the relevant parties.

All advice, recommendations, AI outputs, matches, scores, rankings and profiles are indicative, non-binding and provided on a best-efforts basis only. They do not constitute legal, financial, investment or commercial advice. Clients remain fully responsible for all decisions.

GCE shall never be liable for deals not closing, failed negotiations, unsuccessful funding, poor investments, incorrect matches, AI errors, business outcomes or decisions made by Clients or third parties.

GCE may receive fees, subscriptions, success fees, referral fees or other compensation from Clients, partners, investors, local centers or multiple sides of a transaction. All payments are non-refundable unless explicitly agreed otherwise in writing.

GCE reserves the right to modify pricing and service structures at any time. Changes do not apply retroactively to paid services.

All services are provided “as-is” and “as-available”. All warranties, express or implied, are excluded to the maximum extent permitted by law.

GCE’s total cumulative liability shall be limited to the fees paid by the Client in the three (3) months preceding the event giving rise to liability, with an absolute maximum of EUR 800. GCE shall never be liable for indirect or consequential damages, including loss of profit, funding, data, reputation or opportunity.

The Client shall indemnify and hold harmless GCE against any claims arising from agreements, actions or disputes involving third parties.

Complaints must be submitted in writing within seven (7) calendar days after the service was provided or reasonably discoverable.

GCE may suspend or terminate accounts, access or services at any time without notice or compensation. All outstanding payment obligations remain enforceable.

All intellectual property rights related to methodologies, AI outputs, platforms, materials and content remain exclusively vested in GCE.

14.1 AI Processing Authorization

The Client acknowledges and agrees that GCE may process, analyze, store, structure, enrich and evaluate information, documents, communications, profiles, submissions, datasets and other content provided by the Client through the use of artificial intelligence systems, machine learning technologies, algorithms and automated decision-support tools.

14.2 Internal and External AI Providers

Such processing may take place using both internally developed AI systems and third-party AI providers, including but not limited to large language models, data analytics platforms, cloud-based AI services and other technology providers engaged by GCE.

14.3 Business Purpose

GCE may use such information for:

• dealmaking and matchmaking;
• lead generation;
• profile creation and optimization;
• recommendations and scoring;
• platform development;
• service improvement;
• quality assurance;
• cybersecurity monitoring;
• business intelligence;
• operational efficiency;
• training and optimization of internal AI models and workflows.

14.4 Anonymized and Aggregated Data

GCE may anonymize, aggregate, pseudonymize or otherwise de-identify data and may use such data indefinitely for analytics, benchmarking, research, platform improvement, AI development and commercial purposes.

14.5 Client Warranty

The Client warrants that it has obtained all necessary rights, permissions and legal bases required to provide data, documents and information to GCE for the purposes described in this Agreement.

GCE does not guarantee uninterrupted availability of platforms, tools or AI systems and accepts no liability for downtime or errors.

GCE shall not be liable for any failure or delay in the performance of its obligations if such failure or delay results from circumstances beyond its reasonable control ("Force Majeure"). Force Majeure includes, but is not limited to: natural disasters, war, terrorism, governmental actions, epidemics or pandemics, cyber incidents, system failures, power outages, failures of third-party services or infrastructure, and illness, mental health conditions, medical emergencies or incapacity of key persons essential to the performance of the services, whether temporary or permanent.

During a Force Majeure event, all affected obligations shall be suspended for the duration of the Force Majeure situation, without any obligation to pay damages, penalties or compensation. If the Force Majeure situation continues for an extended period, GCE shall be entitled to terminate the affected services or agreement without liability.

17.1 Independent Status

Local entrepreneurship contractors, licensed centers, partners, facilitators, trainers, advisors and other affiliated parties (collectively: "Independent Contractors") operate as independent contractors and not as employees, agents, legal representatives or partners of GCE.

17.2 No Authority to Bind GCE

Independent Contractors have no authority to represent, bind or create obligations on behalf of GCE, unless expressly authorized in writing by a duly authorized director of GCE.

17.3 Independent Responsibility

All services, advice, negotiations, agreements, representations, statements and activities performed by Independent Contractors are conducted in their own name, for their own account and risk.

17.4 Exclusion of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, GCE shall not be liable for any acts, omissions, misconduct, negligence, advice, representations, contractual commitments, damages or disputes arising from or related to the activities of Independent Contractors.

17.5 No Joint Liability

Nothing in the relationship between GCE and any Independent Contractor shall be construed as creating joint liability, partnership, joint venture, or agency.

17.6 Client Acknowledgement

The Client expressly acknowledges and agrees that it engages with Independent Contractors at its own risk and shall not hold GCE liable for any losses, damages or claims arising therefrom.

17.7 Indemnification

The Client shall indemnify and hold harmless GCE against any claims, damages or liabilities arising from disputes between the Client and any Independent Contractor.

17.8 Intentional Misconduct Carve-Out

Nothing in this Article excludes liability for damages directly caused by GCE's intentional misconduct or willful recklessness.

Nothing in these agreements creates a partnership, joint venture, or agency relationship.

GCE may amend these Terms unilaterally. Deviations are valid only if agreed in writing.

These Terms & Conditions constitute the entire agreement between the parties and supersede all prior or contemporaneous agreements, communications, representations or understandings, whether written or oral.

Any amendment, modification or deviation from these Terms & Conditions shall be valid only if agreed in writing and signed by duly authorized representatives of both parties.

If any provision is held invalid, the remaining provisions remain in full force.

22.1 Governing Law

These Terms and any agreement between GCE and the Client shall be governed exclusively by and construed in accordance with Dutch law, excluding the applicability of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).

22.2 Mandatory Escalation Procedure

Prior to initiating any formal proceedings, the Client shall provide written notice of the dispute, setting out in reasonable detail the nature of the claim. The Parties shall attempt in good faith to resolve the dispute through senior-level negotiations for a period of thirty (30) days.

22.3 Mandatory Online Mediation

If the dispute has not been resolved within the negotiation period, it shall be submitted to mandatory online mediation administered by a mediation institute designated by GCE.

The Client shall advance the full mediation costs as determined by the mediation institute. Mediation shall not commence until such advance has been paid in full. Failure to pay the required advance within fourteen (14) days after request shall result in the claim being deemed withdrawn, without prejudice to GCE's rights. Unless otherwise agreed in a written settlement, each Party shall bear its own legal costs incurred during mediation.

22.4 Binding Arbitration

If mediation does not result in a full settlement within forty-five (45) days after appointment of the mediator, the dispute shall be finally resolved by binding online arbitration administered by an arbitration institute designated by GCE, in accordance with its applicable rules. The seat of arbitration shall be Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The arbitration shall be conducted online and in the English language. The Client shall advance the arbitration costs as required by the arbitration institute. The arbitral tribunal shall have the authority to allocate all costs of arbitration, including reasonable legal fees and mediation costs, and may award full recovery of such costs to GCE if the Client's claims are rejected in whole or in substantial part.

22.5 Exclusion of Ordinary Courts

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Parties irrevocably waive their right to submit disputes to ordinary courts.

22.6 Limitation Period

Any claim arising out of or relating to the Agreement must be submitted in writing within six (6) months after the event giving rise to the claim. Failing such notice, the claim shall lapse irrevocably.

22.7 Interim Relief

Notwithstanding the foregoing, GCE shall be entitled to seek interim or conservatory measures before the competent courts in the Netherlands where necessary to protect its rights or intellectual property.

23.1 Security Measures

GCE implements commercially reasonable technical and organizational security measures appropriate to the nature of its services.

23.2 No Absolute Security Guarantee

The Client acknowledges that no digital platform, AI system, database, network or online infrastructure can be guaranteed to be completely secure. GCE does not warrant uninterrupted security or protection against cyberattacks, hacking, malware, ransomware, data breaches, system intrusions, phishing, denial-of-service attacks, or other forms of cybercrime ("Cyber Incidents").

23.3 Exclusion of Liability for Cyber Incidents

To the fullest extent permitted by law, GCE shall not be liable for any damage, loss of data, business interruption, financial loss, reputational damage, unauthorized access, or other consequences resulting from Cyber Incidents, including incidents affecting third-party hosting providers, AI systems, software vendors, infrastructure providers or communication networks.

23.4 Third-Party Infrastructure

GCE shall not be responsible for failures or security breaches originating from third-party service providers, cloud infrastructure, AI providers, software integrations or external systems.

23.5 Liability Cap Applies

In the event liability cannot legally be excluded, any liability arising from a Cyber Incident shall in all cases be subject to the limitation of liability set out in Article 9.

23.6 No Liability for Indirect Damage

Under no circumstances shall GCE be liable for indirect or consequential damages arising from Cyber Incidents, including loss of profit, loss of funding, loss of data, or loss of opportunity.

23.7 Intentional Misconduct

Nothing in this Article excludes liability for damages caused by GCE's intentional misconduct or willful recklessness.