Trust & verification

How AKAL labels what it knows

Trust on AKAL comes from evidence and clear definitions, not from badges. This page explains what each label means and what it does not.

Our approach

An agricultural investment is described by many facts: who holds the land and on what terms, where the water comes from, what has been planted, what was built and what it cost. Some of these facts have been checked; many have not.

AKAL does not hide that difference. Each labelled section of an opportunity shows where its information came from and how far AKAL has checked it; unlabelled text is seller-provided. Where nothing has been checked, the page says so.

The four provenance states

Only these four labels are used, always with the same meaning. They are assigned by the AKAL team, never by the seller.

Seller ProvidedLevel 1 of 4Entered by the seller; AKAL has not checked it.
What it requires
Nothing. Every area starts here when a seller submits an opportunity.
What it does not mean
It does not mean the information is wrong. It means AKAL has not checked it yet.
DocumentedLevel 2 of 4The seller supplied documents for this area and the AKAL team confirmed they are present and consistent with what is stated; their authenticity is not confirmed.
What it requires
At least one document tagged to the area that a member of the AKAL team has accepted after comparing it with what the seller stated.
What it does not mean
AKAL has not confirmed that the documents are authentic or legally valid.
ReviewedLevel 3 of 4The AKAL team reviewed the information and documents for completeness and internal consistency and raised open points with the seller. This includes everything required for Documented.
What it requires
Everything Documented requires (an accepted document), plus a written note from the AKAL team recording what was checked and which open points were raised with the seller.
What it does not mean
A review checks completeness and internal consistency. It is not an audit, a valuation or a legal opinion.
Independently VerifiedLevel 4 of 4A qualified third party or an AKAL site visit independently confirmed the specific facts written in the verification note, and only those facts.
What it requires
The name of the qualified third party or AKAL site visit that confirmed the facts, their agreement to be named publicly, and a note stating exactly which facts were confirmed.
What it does not mean
It covers only the facts written in the verification note, as of the date recorded. It says nothing about anything else.

Labels are set per area

Provenance is recorded separately for seven areas of every opportunity, because tenure can be documented while the financial figures are still seller-reported.

The overall label on a card or at the top of an opportunity is the lowest state across all seven areas, so a summary never claims more than every area supports.

The seven evidence areas

Tenure
Land
Water & irrigation
Plantings
Infrastructure & equipment
Financials
Operations

The evidence count

Next to the overall label, cards and opportunity pages show how many of the seven areas AKAL has checked, for example “3 of 7 areas checked by AKAL”.

An area counts as checked when its label is Documented or higher, because every such label needs at least one document the AKAL team has accepted. An area without a label counts as unchecked.

The count never replaces the overall label, which stays the lowest label across the seven areas. An opportunity can have 6 of 7 areas checked and still be Seller Provided overall, because one area has not been checked.

How it appears (example)

Seller Provided3 of 7 areas checked by AKAL

Dates next to labels

Above Seller Provided, each area's label shows the month and year it was assigned, for example “Documented · Aug 2026”. Independently Verified shows the full date recorded in its note.

A label describes what AKAL had checked on that date. If the seller later changes the facts of a checked area, the area returns to Seller Provided until the AKAL team checks it again.

What Independently Verified is limited to

Independently Verified is the strongest label AKAL uses, and the narrowest. It applies only when a qualified third party, such as a surveyor, or an AKAL site visit has confirmed specific facts.

The opportunity page shows who confirmed them, the note describing exactly what was confirmed, and the date. Facts outside that note keep their own label. The label is not an opinion on the investment, its value or its legal status.

A verifier is named only with their agreement to be named publicly, recorded by AKAL when the label is set.

Independent verification and who pays for it

Independent verification is optional. It is done by an AKAL site visit or by a qualified third party, such as a licensed surveyor or, for the legal basis, a lawyer.

AKAL approves a third-party verifier before the check: they must be qualified for what they confirm and have no relationship with the seller or the opportunity.
AKAL sets the scope of the check in writing before it starts.
A seller who wants independent verification commissions and pays the approved verifier directly.
The verifier sends the report to AKAL directly, not through the seller.
AKAL may decline to record a result.
The public note says who confirmed which facts and when and, when the seller paid for the check, that it was commissioned and paid by the seller and that AKAL received the report directly.
A verifier is named publicly only with their agreement, recorded by AKAL.

Legal basis of the land

Every opportunity states the legal basis on which the seller holds the land: in effect, what they would pass on. The basis is a neutral fact, not a rating. How far AKAL has checked it is shown separately, by the provenance label of the Tenure area.

The legal bases

Registered ownership
What it means
Ownership is recorded in the register of the Real Estate Publicity Department.
What it does not mean
It does not mean the title is free of mortgages, encumbrances or claims, or that the seller is the registered owner. A lawyer should search the register.
Regularization completed (state contract, not registered)
What it means
The state has issued a contract after accepting an application to regularize possession of state land.
What it does not mean
It is not registered ownership until the contract is registered at the Real Estate Publicity Department.
Allocation contract from a state body
What it means
A state body, such as GARPAD or a governorate, has allocated the land under a contract, often lease-first or by installments, with conditions such as reclamation deadlines.
What it does not mean
It is not registered ownership. A transfer usually needs the allocating body's prior approval and full payment.
Regularization application pending
What it means
An application has been made to regularize possession of state land, for example on the National Platform for the Regularization of State Lands.
What it does not mean
It does not establish ownership. The application may still be refused, and its price and terms are not final.
Possession, no regularization application
What it means
The land is held by physical possession, without an application to regularize it.
What it does not mean
There is no contract with the state and no registered ownership.
Customary (unregistered) sale contract
What it means
The seller bought the land under a customary (unregistered) sale contract, which binds the parties who signed it.
What it does not mean
It does not transfer registered ownership, and a court judgment that only confirms the signature does not change that.
Usufruct
What it means
A right to use the land and take its produce for a period.
What it does not mean
It is not ownership. What can be passed on depends on the agreement and its remaining term.
Lease
What it means
A right to use the land for a fixed term under a lease.
What it does not mean
It is not ownership. Assigning it usually needs the owner's consent.
Other arrangement
What it means
An arrangement the other bases do not describe; the seller explains it in their notes.
What it does not mean
AKAL has not classified it. Read the seller's notes and take legal advice.
Legal basis not established
What it means
The seller has not stated a basis, or AKAL does not have enough information to state one.
What it does not mean
It is not a finding that something is wrong. It means the legal basis is not known to AKAL.

How AKAL records a regularization application check

Regularization applications are made to the state, today mostly on the National Platform for the Regularization of State Lands. The platform shows an application's status only to someone who enters the applicant's national ID number and mobile number. There is no lookup by application number and no public access.

AKAL never collects national ID numbers, so AKAL cannot look up an application by itself. Instead, an AKAL team member either views the status on the official platform together with the applicant, by video call or in person, or accepts an official document such as a platform receipt or a committee letter.

Each check is recorded with its date, the stage seen and how it was seen, and the opportunity page shows the date and the stage. The application number itself is never published.

A check shows the application's status on that date only. It does not confirm the right to the land, and it supports a Reviewed label at most.

What Independently Verified requires for the legal basis

For the legal basis, Independently Verified is set only when a named legal professional, such as a lawyer, has confirmed specific facts; for example, that a search at the Real Estate Publicity Department on a stated date showed the title registered to the party the seller names, with no recorded encumbrance.

It also needs the professional's agreement to be named publicly, and a scope note stating exactly what was confirmed. A surveyor or a site visit can confirm facts about the land, but not its legal basis.

Even then, it is not a legal opinion from AKAL, and it does not mean the land can be transferred.

Disputes and legal review

A dispute declared by the seller, and AKAL's recommendation of independent legal review, are shown as separate written notices, never as a status, a score or a colour.

A listing where the seller declared a dispute, or is not sure, is published only after an AKAL team member has recorded a review of that answer. The notice stays on the listing.

This glossary is a plain-language guide, not legal advice.

What AKAL checks about sellers

Before an opportunity is published, and before any inquiry is passed to its seller, a member of the AKAL team speaks with the seller by phone, video or in person and sees an identity document: a national ID card or a passport.

For each opportunity, AKAL also records whether the seller's name matches the name in the opportunity's documents, or how the seller relates to the person or company named there. The same applies when a listing is transferred to a new owner.

For this check, AKAL records only that it happened (how, which type of document, when); it does not record the document number or keep a copy.

This is not a legal verification of identity, and there is no badge. The opportunity page says only that a member of the AKAL team has spoken with the seller and seen an identity document, and that AKAL has not verified identity legally. Confirm the seller's identity yourself before any commitment.

What “qualified” means

A qualified inquiry is one a member of the AKAL team has read and judged specific and relevant to the opportunity. AKAL does not check a buyer's identity, funds or intentions.

Only qualified inquiries are passed to the seller, together with the buyer's contact details and what the buyer chose to share in the inquiry form.

What AKAL never claims

Whatever the labels say, AKAL does not state or imply any of the following:

That an investment will produce any return, yield, income or appreciation.
That a transaction, transfer or assignment will complete.
That land, a contract or an operation can legally be transferred. This is always subject to legal review.
That a regularization application, allocation or customary contract amounts to legal ownership.
That an asking price reflects market value. Per-feddan figures are for comparison only.
That documents are authentic, unless a named third party has confirmed it within an Independently Verified note.
That the seller is the person or company named in the documents. Before publication, and before any inquiry is passed on, a member of the AKAL team speaks with the seller and sees an identity document; AKAL does not verify the seller's identity legally.
Anything through a generic “verified” badge. We do not use one.

How documents are handled

Documents are private by default. They are kept in private storage, never at a public or predictable web address, and search engines cannot index them.
Only the seller who uploaded them and the AKAL team can open them, and every access is logged.
Buyers see which kinds of documents exist and their review status, never the files, their names or their contents.
Documents are not shared through the website. After AKAL has passed a qualified inquiry to the seller, the buyer and seller decide together what to exchange.
The exact location of a farm is never published. Public pages show the governorate and an approximate area only.

Fees

AKAL does not charge buyers or sellers during the beta. If AKAL introduces fees, we will publish them here before they apply. They will never apply to inquiries already sent, and AKAL will never charge sellers for opportunities already listed.

Independent verification is optional; a seller who wants it commissions and pays an approved third party directly.

The costs of the transaction itself, such as legal, registration and transfer fees and any surveyor either party hires, are between buyer and seller. AKAL is not a party to the transaction and does not hold funds.

Glossary

Plain definitions of words used on AKAL. The legal bases on which land can be held have their own glossary above.

Feddan: The unit of land area used in Egypt: 1 feddan ≈ 4,200 m² ≈ 0.42 hectares ≈ 1.04 acres. A feddan is divided into 24 qirat.
Asking price per feddan (for comparison): The asking price divided by the total area, including everything offered with it. It is not a land price or a valuation.
Seller-reported and Seller Provided: “Seller-reported” qualifies a figure the seller gave. “Seller Provided” is the label of an area AKAL has not checked yet. A figure stays seller-reported unless its area's label is above Seller Provided.
Legal basis: The basis on which the seller holds the land, in effect what they would pass on. The legal bases explained
Full sale: The land is sold together with everything built and planted on it.
Partial transition: Part of a farm or of a partly developed project is passed on; the seller keeps the rest.
Investment transfer: The seller's position in an existing agricultural investment, such as their rights and obligations under a contract, is passed to someone else.
Installment contract transition: A land purchase or allocation contract that is still being paid in installments is passed on, together with the remaining installments.
Farm and operations: The farm is handed over together with its running operations, team and contracts.
Partnership: A partner invests alongside the current holder in an existing project.
Lease or operating agreement: The land, or its operation, is leased out for a yearly rent; the seller keeps the land.
Beta: AKAL's current phase: free for buyers and sellers, with every opportunity read by the AKAL team and the terms under legal review. Beta is not the same as Demo: only opportunities marked Demo are fictional.

Language we use

These words appear throughout AKAL and always carry the meanings below.

Seller-reported: Stated by the seller. AKAL has not checked it unless a provenance label says otherwise.
Asking price: The price the seller asks for what is being transitioned. It is not a valuation and may be negotiable.
Capital invested: What the seller reports having spent on the investment. It is not audited and does not indicate current value.
For comparison: A figure AKAL derives for comparison only, such as the asking price divided by the land area. It is not a land price or a valuation.
Estimated: An approximate figure given by the seller or a third party, with the uncertainty that implies.
Documented: Supported by documents the AKAL team has accepted as present and consistent. Authenticity is not confirmed.
Subject to verification: Not yet confirmed. A buyer should confirm it before relying on it.
Subject to legal review: Depends on legal questions, such as transferability, that AKAL does not assess and a qualified lawyer should.