Privacy Policy

At Zeed Initiative, we understand that data is the new currency and it has to be treated as such. As tech leaders, we are always at the forefront of trends in the industry and we constantly update our arsenals in order to keep up with the developments and demands.

In the recent past, data and privacy have been at the forefront of Big Tech. In fact, many organisations and institutions have been forced to change the way they collect, store and disseminate data (especially personal data). We are privy to the repercussions of non-compliance as far as data privacy is concerned.

Because of this, we take data privacy very seriously since we collect a lot of data from the communities in which we operate. The data may be anything from personal information (name, age, gender, telephone, email) to data about usage of our services or even spaces. We know that part of this is identifiable sensitive data and it ought to be treated as such.

We do this in three main ways;

Data Collection; When we collect data, we ensure that we collect only the necessary data for the intended purpose. For example, for people that attend our events, all we want to know is their name, gender, email, telephone, region (where they attended the event from) and a few other details as may be needed depending on the event. We do not use this data at individual level but in aggregated form to enable us understand the groups of young people we serve, challenges faced by which group and how best to serve them. Also, our data collection processes are very transparent and not in any way manipulative to the person or organisation sharing the information. For research or implementation of science, we collect data through interviews, surveys and Focus Group Discussions. The interviews and discussions are done “only” after seeking informed verbal and written consent from all respondents. Data from these studies is also presented in aggregated form. It is purely used to improve service delivery and identify opportunities where we can support entrepreneurs in the future.

Data Storage; All the data collected is stored safely and securely on our local servers that are only accessed and managed by Zeed Initiative. These servers are hosted offshore behind Virtual Private Networks which makes it very hard for hackers to access. In the event that someone forcefully wants access to the data, they would have to produce a court order issued in the country where the servers are hosted. Therefore, our data is safe from both hackers and other parties that may want to forcefully access it. It is also worth noting that the data is automatically backed up which makes it easy to recover in case of a disaster. Data on individuals served through our programme services and activities is stored for a period of not less than five years. This allows for follow-up and feedback on impact of such services and possible future improvements in the upcoming programmes that target similar populations.

Data Sharing; Zeed Initiative does not share individual beneficiary data with third parties except in cases where we have received consent from the data subjects. If we intend to share the data we collect with some of our partners, TIV As well as her partner make sure they obtain permission or informed consent from the targeted respondent individuals who are usually beneficiaries served by the programme. This process usually details the purpose of data collection, who is involved in data collection and why, the rights of respondents including confidentiality, benefits if any for the respondents as well as how the data will be used and shared. If we shall share the data, we maintain being transparent about who we share it with as we ensure the partner conducting the data collection indicates to the respondent their relationship with Zeed Initiative In cases where we share the data, we also ensure that the recipient strictly adheres to TIV policies as far as data sharing is concerned. Key publications including video, audio or related recordings and pictures in reports, on websites and at conferences ONLY take place after seeking individual written informed consent.

We know how critical handling data is and are therefore committed to ensuring that the data we collect is secure and only shared in a manner that is both transparent and safe. We are committed to adhering to these policies.