Privacy Statement

Please note that we have updated our Privacy Statement effective 14 March 2025.

What has been changed?
The changes to our Privacy Statement are as follows:

1. Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency will now accept e-mail requests from individuals about personal information held by Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency about them in addition to requests submitted by regular mail.
2. Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency reserves the right to reject requests in certain situations including, but not limited to where the requests are considered vexatious or frivolous, or where disclosure of the information might prejudice the privacy rights of another individual.

We hope the minor changes that have been made in this update will make it easier for you to understand how your personal data is used and the choices and controls that you have over that information.

Have questions?
If you have any questions about these changes, or regarding our Privacy Statement, please email the Privacy mailbox.

1. This Privacy Statement (“the Statement”) sets out how the Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency (“Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency”) processes and protects any Personal Information (as defined below) that you provide to Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency by any means of communication, or that Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency may obtain, directly or indirectly, when you use the website of the Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency (“Website”) or any other Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency platform, application or database.


2. For the purpose of this Statement, “Personal Information” means any information that relates to an individual which, if disclosed, would affect the legitimate privacy interest of the individual concerned, regardless of whether the information was released by itself or in combination with additional information that would make it possible to identify the individual.


3. Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency may amend this Statement from time to time at its sole discretion. Amendments to this Statement are effective immediately when the new version of this Statement is published on the Website. By continuing to use the Website or any other Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency platform, application or database, or when providing Personal Information to Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency by any means of communication, subsequent to Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency making available an amended version of this Statement, you thereby acknowledge, agree, and consent to such amendment.



Categories of personal information processed by Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency

4. Personal Information normally processed by Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency may include, but is not limited to:
   • Contact details (e.g., name, company name, job title, work and mobile telephone numbers, work and personal e-mail and postal address);
   
   
   • Professional details (e.g., job experience and career history, educational background and professional memberships, published articles, language skills);
   
   
   • Family and beneficiary details for insurance and pension planning services (e.g., names, gender, nationality and dates of birth);
   
   
   • Financial information (e.g., taxes, payroll, investment interests, pensions, assets, bank details);
   
   
   • Images of visitors that may be collected by CCTV at the Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency Headquarters.


5. Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency does not typically collect sensitive categories of personal information about individuals, which is information about the individual’s race or ethnic origin; political opinions; religious or philosophical beliefs; offences, criminal convictions and history; trade union memberships; health or data concerning her/his sex life or sexual orientation; and the processing of genetic and/or biometric data that uniquely identifies the individual. When necessary, Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency will process sensitive Personal Information after receiving prior explicit consent of the individual. Examples of sensitive personal data Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency may obtain include:
   • dietary restrictions or access requirements that may reveal religious beliefs or physical health;
   
   
   • personal identification documents that may reveal race or ethnic origin, and possibly biometric data of private individuals, or applicants;
   
   
   • adverse information about potential or existing applicants that may reveal criminal convictions or offences information;
   
   
   • diversity information volunteered by applicants.



How Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency collects information

6. Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency collects information in the following ways:
   • directly, when you provide Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency with your information or give Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency permission to acquire it through the Website or any other Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency platform, or app. For example, you may apply for a job or position, sign up for Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency’s newsletter, or communicate with Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency to provide or request further information;
   
   
   • indirectly, when your information, including Personal Information, is shared by other entities working with Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency through the modalities described in paragraph 14 of this Statement;
   
   
   • publicly, when your information, including Personal Information, is made available on other websites, in publications or through other media channels. Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency may combine information, including Personal Information you provide through the Website, with other information sources available publicly to gain a better understanding of Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency’s relationship with you;
   
   
   • technically, when the device or app you use to access the Website sends automatically generated information. Here are some of the types of technical information Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency collects:
     • device-specific data: this may include the type of device you are using, operating system, or browser type, mobile network information, or unique device identifiers;
     
     
     • log data: records of your interactions with the Website are automatically created by Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency servers, such as your Internet Protocol (IP) address, the webpages you visited, search queries, or the files you downloaded;
     
     
     • location data: Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency may collect and process information about your current location, city, region and country; or
     • activity data: like most websites, the Website uses cookies.


7. Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency does not knowingly collect and manage Personal Information from children. If you learn that a child under your care has provided Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency with Personal Information without your consent, please contact Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency through any of the communication channels listed at the bottom of this webpage.



Processing of information collected through the Website

8. Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency will use your information, including Personal Information, to:
   • provide you with the services or information you have requested;
   
   
   • administer and keep a record of your relationship with Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency;
   
   
   • ensure Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency knows if and how you prefer to be contacted;
   
   
   • understand how Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency can improve the Website and its contents; or
   
   
   • respond to your questions or comments.


9. Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency will ask for your permission before using Personal Information for purposes other than those set out in this Statement.



Collecting, processing and sharing information

10. Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency may rely on the following lawful reasons when it processes Personal Information to operate our business:
    • contract: Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency may process personal data in order to perform its contractual obligations;
    
    
    • consent: Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency may rely on your freely given consent at the time you provided your Personal Information to us;
    
    
    • legitimate interests: Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency may rely on legitimate interests based on its evaluation that the processing is fair, reasonable and balanced. These may include:
      • delivering services to our marketplace: to deliver professional services our stakeholders expect us to provide
      
      
      • direct marketing: to deliver timely market insights and specialty knowledge we believe is welcomed by our partners, contributors and individuals who have interacted with us
      
      
    • legal obligations and public interests: Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency may process Personal Information in order to meet regulatory and public interest obligations or mandates


11. Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency may process or disclose your Personal Information without your consent in the following cases:
    • for external processing: Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency may share Personal Information with third party contractors and subcontractors which will process such information, based on Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency’s instructions and in compliance with this Statement. Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency may share information with a security consultant to help us get better at identifying spam. In addition, some of the information Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency requests may be collected by third party contractors or subcontractors on behalf of Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency;
    
    
    • for legal reasons: Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency may share your Personal Information with third parties in response to legal process or may process or disclose Personal Information when Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency believes in good faith that access, use, preservation or disclosure of the Personal Information is reasonably necessary to:
      • meet any applicable law, regulation, legal process or enforceable governmental request;
      
      
      • enforce applicable Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency’s policies and rules, including investigation of potential violations of such policies and rules;
      
      
      • detect, prevent or otherwise address prohibited practices, security or technical issues; or
      
      
      • protect against harm to the rights, property or safety of Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency, its personnel, contractors, subcontractors, as well as the Website users or the public, as required or permitted by applicable law.


12. Except for the cases set out in paragraph 11 of this Statement, Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency may only process or share your Personal Information with third parties with your consent.


13. Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency may share aggregated, non-personally identifiable information publicly and with third parties without any prior information or authorisation. For example, Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency may share summarised aggregate data about the Website use trends for planning or benchmarking.


14. Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency may use third party contractors and subcontractors to collect or process information, including Personal Information, on its behalf. In this case, Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency contractors and subcontractors may also treat Personal Information in accordance with any additional policies, rules and practice, which may apply to their operations.


15. Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency may transfer, store or process information, including Personal Information, outside the country or territory where you are located. By submitting your Personal Information to Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency, you agree to this transfer, storage or processing at a location outside your country or territory. Although these countries may not have equivalent data protection laws in the country where you are located, Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency adopts reasonable measures to protect your Personal Information.


16. Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency will retain the Personal Information it collects for the period necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this Statement, unless a longer retention period is required by Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency internal policies, rules and practice.



Protection of personal information

17. Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency endeavours to protect the security and integrity of Personal Information collected through the Website. Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency has put in place appropriate technical controls to protect your Personal Information from unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure or destruction of information. However, due to the inherent nature of the Internet as an open global communications vehicle, Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency cannot guarantee that any information, whether during transmission through the Internet, while stored on Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency’s data systems or otherwise maintained by Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency, will be absolutely safe from intrusion by others, such as hackers. This includes information provided to us by e-mail, through direct postings on the Website, through Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency portals or media channels, or through the “Contact Us” feature of the Website. In providing information through these channels, you should be aware that your transmission might not be secure while it is in transit, and that a third party could possibly view the information in transit.


18. For the purpose of effectively protecting information from accidental or malicious destruction, Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency may not remove information, including Personal Information, from its backup systems.



Access to, update and deletion of your personal information

19. You have the right to:
    • request a copy of the Personal Information held by Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency about you. If you want to access your Personal Information, send a description of the information you want to see and proof of your identity by mail or e-mail;
    
    
    • update the Personal Information that Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency holds about you by contacting Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency through any of the communication channels listed at the bottom of this page;
    
    
    • request Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency to stop processing your Personal Information and, if it is not necessary for the purpose it was provided, Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency will do so; and
    
    
    • be removed from any of Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency’s active lists or databases. Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency will keep a copy of this request for its records so to ensure that you are not accidentally included in the lists again, unless you request Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency to do so.


20. Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency reserves the right to reject requests in certain situations including, but not limited to, where the requests are considered vexatious or frivolous, where disclosure of the information might prejudice the privacy rights of another individual, or for any of the reasons listed in paragraph 11 of this Statement.



How to contact Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency

21. If you have questions or comments about this Privacy Statement or how Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency manages, processes or protects Personal Information, you may contact the Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency Data Protection and Privacy Office through any of the following channels:
    Mail: Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency
              68 Grayston Drive, Sandown, Sandton
              Johannesburg
              privacy@vuka.org.za


22. Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency aims to respond within 30 days from the date Vuka Trade and Enterprise Development Agency receives communications regarding the management, processing or protection of Personal Information.