How it works
From application to a verifiable public record
Three audiences use Certified Africa differently, issuers, the public, and certified individuals themselves. Here's the mechanics behind each.
For issuers
Getting approved to issue
Apply as a business or individual trainer
Submit your legal or registered name, an identification document, and, for businesses, proof of operation, such as a registration certificate. Individual trainers without a registered business instead sign a declaration of the training they deliver.
A human reviews your application
An Account Manager or Admin checks your documents before anything unlocks. Nothing is auto-approved. You'll hear back with a decision, or a request for more information if something's unclear.
Set up your brand once
Logo, primary color, signatory name and signature, and a template from ten modern designs. This is stored once and reused for every certificate you issue, consistent by design, not something you configure per certificate.
Issue certificates
Add trainees one at a time, or upload a CSV for a whole graduating cohort. Each one gets a certificate PDF, a unique verification record, and, with consent, a public directory profile, instantly.
For the public
Verifying a certificate
Scan the QR code, or enter the ID
Every certificate carries a QR code and a short public ID, e.g. CERT-8F2K9-XQ41, random, not sequential, so IDs can't be guessed or scraped in order.
The record, not the PDF, is authoritative
A cryptographic signature computed over the certificate's core fields at issuance is re-checked on every lookup, a direct database edit without going through the signing service would invalidate it.
Status is always current
Valid, Revoked, or Expired, if the issuer set an expiry, common for safety recertification. A revocation stays permanently visible with its reason, never silently deleted.
No account needed
Verification is the trust product, it has to be frictionless, so it's public and unauthenticated by design, and rate-limited against abuse, see our security page.
For certified individuals
Your profile is yours
When you're issued a certificate, you get an email with a claim link. Claiming it lets you edit your bio, photo, and contact preferences, toggle "open to hire," or hide your directory profile entirely, the underlying certificate stays independently verifiable either way, since verification never depends on whether your profile is visible in the directory.
Ready to get started?