GENERAL PORTAL TERMS OF USE

Introduction

The Portal

The Awards Portal (the "Portal") is where you register, submit, and track entries in connection with MIB Guesthouse Awards 2026 (the "Programme"), run by Maldives Islamic Bank, together with its facilitating partner, Crowe Maldives LLP (together, "we", "us", "our").

As a Guest, you can browse the Programme categories and eligibility criteria before registering. Once you create an account as a Nominee (or Nominator, Judge, etc., as applicable), you gain access to the entry submission dashboard, status tracking, and Programme communications.

You may not access the Portal if you are a direct competitor to us in the operation of awards or evaluation platforms, except with our prior written consent, and you may not access the Portal for the purpose of monitoring its availability, performance, or functionality, or for any other benchmarking or competitive purpose.

You must not link to the Portal, or otherwise establish a link to it, in a way that suggests any form of association, approval, or endorsement by us that does not exist.

When these Terms apply

These Terms apply to you whenever you access or use the Portal, whether as a Guest, Nominee, Nominator, or Judge, until you delete your account or your participation in the Programme ends.

By accessing or using the Portal, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you disagree with any part of them, you must not access the Portal.

We recommend you print or save a copy of these Terms for your records. We may update the Portal by adding or removing functionality or changing its design at any time, and you may be asked to accept updated terms before continuing to use it.

Other terms that apply to you

These Terms refer to the following additional terms, which also apply to your use of the Portal:

• Our Privacy Policy
• Our Cookie Policy

Setting Up an Account

You must provide information that is accurate, complete, and current when creating your Portal account. Keeping it up to date is your responsibility, if you don't, we may not be able to process your entry or contact you about it.

You are responsible for safeguarding your account password and for all activity under your account, including any Material uploaded using your login, whether or not it was made or owned by you personally or by someone else acting with or without your knowledge. You must not disclose your password to any third party, and you must notify us immediately if you become aware of any unauthorised use of your account.

We do not independently verify the information you provide and rely on you to ensure it is accurate.

By submitting an entry, you represent that you are the legal owner of the materials submitted, or that you are authorised (by the relevant rights-holder or by your organisation, where entering on its behalf) to submit them.

We may suspend, restrict, or terminate your access, or change your account permissions, at any time, with or without notice and without needing to give a reason, for example, where we reasonably believe this is necessary to protect the integrity or security of the Programme or Portal.

Guest accounts left inactive for an extended period (e.g. 3 months) may have their information archived or removed, and we may cancel inactive Guest accounts after that period.

Submitting Entries and How We Use Them

To submit an entry, you will be asked to confirm the Programme entry declaration, covering matters such as eligibility, rights to submit the materials, and consent to publicise results if shortlisted or awarded.

Except as set out in our Privacy Policy and the entry declaration, no use will be made of your Submitted Materials other than to evaluate and administer the Programme.

Once submitted, we will process your entry through our judging workflow, which may involve sharing it with judges, panel members, and Programme administrators on a need-to-know basis, as described in our Privacy Policy.

We are reliant on the accuracy and completeness of the information and materials you submit; we do not independently verify the substance of entries beyond published eligibility checks.

Submission deadlines are strict, and late or incomplete entries may not be considered.

The Portal is not a permanent repository or backup for your Submitted Materials. Material may be archived, anonymised, or deleted following the Programme's conclusion (see our Privacy Policy for retention periods), and access to it through the Portal is not guaranteed indefinitely. You should keep your own copy of anything you submit.

Confidentiality

Any Material you access through the Portal that isn't your own, for example, another nominees's submission you may see as a judge or panel member, must be treated as confidential.

You agree to use such Confidential Information strictly for the purpose it was shared with you (evaluating or administering the Programme) and for no other purpose; to keep it private and secure with at least the same care you'd use for your own confidential information; and not to disclose it to anyone except those in your organisation who need it for that purpose, provided they are bound by equivalent confidentiality obligations.

If you become aware of any unauthorised use or disclosure of Confidential Information accessed via the Portal, you must tell us in writing immediately, giving full details of what happened, when, and to whom the disclosure was made, and take any steps we reasonably require to remedy the situation.

Use of the Portal

Information, content, and status updates displayed on the Portal are provided for your information regarding the Programme only, and should not be relied on as a guarantee of outcome.

The Portal is made available for your use solely in connection with your participation in the Programme. You may not use it for any other commercial, business, or resale purpose.

You agree that we may disclose information you provide (including confidential information) to those who reasonably need to know it in connection with administering the Programme, for example, our staff, judges, Programme partners, sponsors, or agents or where disclosure is required by law or a regulatory body, as further described in our Privacy Policy.

We are not responsible for: (a) any action or decision you take based on information displayed on the Portal, or any resulting loss; or (b) third-party sites linked to or accessed from the Portal.

How We Keep in Touch With You

By using the Portal, you consent to us contacting you at the email address on your account, or via in-Portal notifications, regarding your entry status, Programme updates, and matters we're required to communicate for legal or operational reasons. See our Privacy Policy for further detail. Where a notification may affect your entry (for example, a change to deadlines or judging criteria), we will notify you by email and via your Portal account.

Intellectual Property Rights

The Portal itself, and its underlying design, features, and code, remain the exclusive property of Maldives Islamic Bank and Crowe Maldives LLP and its licensors, protected by copyright, trademark, and other applicable laws.

We grant you a revocable, non-exclusive right to use the Portal solely to participate in the Programme.

You must not, and must not permit any third party to: copy or distribute the Portal's content or code; reverse-engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract source code from the Portal; sub-license, rent, or resell access to the Portal; or combine the Portal with any other software or service.

Ownership of intellectual property rights in your Submitted Materials remains with you or your organisation. By submitting an entry, you grant us a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use, reproduce, and display your Submitted Materials (or extracts, such as your name and a summary of your entry) for judging and, where you have consented via the entry declaration, for publicising and promoting the Programme and its results.

Termination

We may suspend or terminate your account at any time, without prior notice, if you breach these Terms, if we reasonably suspect fraudulent or unauthorised use, or for other legitimate operational reasons. We will normally try to tell you why.

If we suspect unauthorised or fraudulent use, we may suspend your account while we investigate and will try to contact you (normally by email).

You may terminate your account at any time by discontinuing use of the Portal or contacting us to request deletion, subject to our data retention obligations described in the Privacy Policy.

Provisions of these Terms which by their nature should survive termination (including Sections 4 (Confidentiality), 7 (Intellectual Property), 9 (Indemnity), and 10 (Limitation of Liability)) will continue to apply.

Indemnity

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Maldives Islamic Bank and Crowe Maldives LLP, its officers, directors, employees, contractors, and agents, from any claims, losses, liabilities, costs, or expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from: (a) your use of the Portal, or use by anyone accessing it with your credentials; (b) your breach of these Terms; or (c) any Submitted Materials that infringe the rights of a third party or are otherwise unlawful.

Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability

We do not warrant that: (a) the Portal will operate uninterrupted or error-free; (b) any defects will be corrected; (c) the Portal is free of viruses or harmful components; or (d) your entry will achieve any particular outcome.

We may suspend, withdraw, or restrict availability of the Portal, or any part of it, for operational or business reasons, and will try to give reasonable notice where practical.

Your use of the Portal is at your own risk. It is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis, without warranties of any kind, to the fullest extent permitted by law.

The Portal may link to third-party sites (for example, a payment provider). We do not control and are not responsible for their content or privacy practices.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable to you for any loss or damage arising from your use of, or inability to use, the Portal, or your reliance on any content or status information displayed on it including loss of opportunity to be considered for an award due to circumstances outside our reasonable control, loss of data, or any indirect or consequential loss. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, such as liability for fraud or for death or personal injury caused by negligence.

General

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, and the applicable entry declaration, represent the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Portal, and supersede any prior discussions or representations about it, whether written or oral. You confirm that you have not relied on, and have no remedy in respect of, any statement, representation, or understanding about the Portal other than what is set out in these documents except that this does not exclude liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

These Terms are governed by the laws of Republic of Maldives and the courts of Republic of Maldives have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute.

Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms is not a waiver of that right. If any provision is found invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in effect.

We may transfer our rights and obligations under these Terms to another organisation (for example, if the Programme changes ownership); this will not reduce your rights. You may not transfer your rights or obligations without our consent.

Changes to the Portal and These Terms

We may modify or replace these Terms, or any part of the Portal, at any time, acting reasonably. Where a change is material, we will give notice before it takes effect where possible for example, via email or an in-Portal notice and may ask you to accept the revised terms to continue using the Portal. Continued use after a revision takes effect means you accept the revised Terms; if you don't agree, you must stop using the Portal.