Privacy Policy

Introduction  

This Privacy Policy outlines and provides you with clear and comprehensive information regarding the data that B2B.Africa collects from you. It explains how and why we gather, utilize, and manage that data.

For the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU 2016/679), the data controller is B2B.Africa (see Contact Details). B2B.Africa is headquartered in South Africa and is responsible for data collected in relation to websites and events managed by B2B.Africa. Please note that while B2B.Africa is primarily responsible for safeguarding your personal data, information may be stored in databases accessible by other affiliated entities of B2B.Africa.

We may update this Policy periodically to ensure it remains current and compliant with legal obligations. Please check the "Last Updated" date at the bottom of this page to see when this Policy was last modified. We may also inform you of significant changes via email, using the address you last provided, or by displaying an alert when you access our systems. This Policy does not aim to override any contractual terms you have with us or between buyers and suppliers (or any rights you may possess under applicable data protection laws).

Contact Details  

The main point of contact for any issues arising from this Policy, including requests to exercise data subject rights, is our Data Protection Officer. If you have a complaint or concern regarding our use of your personal information, please reach out to us first, and we will strive to resolve the matter promptly. You can contact the Data Protection Officer via:

Email: report@b2b.africa

You also have the right to file a complaint with a data protection authority in your country or region if you believe there has been an infringement of applicable data protection laws.

A list of EU Regulators can be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/justice/article-29/structure/data-protection-authorities/index_en.htm.

A list of authorities participating in the Global Privacy Enforcement Network can be found here: https://www.privacyenforcement.net/about_the_network#members.

Third-Party Links

Our website may occasionally feature links to and from the websites of our partner networks, advertisers, and affiliates. If you click on a link to any of these external sites, please be aware that they have their own privacy policies, and we cannot accept any responsibility or liability for these policies. We encourage you to review these notices before providing any personal information to those websites.

How Do We Collect Your Personal Data?

We gather your data through various methods:

• Registration Forms: We request that attendees register by filling out a form, which we subsequently input into our systems.

• Check-In Updates: We ask attendees to update or complete information retrieved from prior registrations stored in our system.

• Business Cards: We scan and keep records of visitors' business cards.

Through Website Forms

• Registration & Inquiry Forms: We require visitors to our online platforms to register in order to personalize their experience and use the site's messaging features. We offer both a full and a lite registration option that captures minimal data. Additionally, we provide a self-registration feature for suppliers interested in becoming advertisers on our site.

• Subscription Forms: We collect information about site visitors’ subscriptions and preferences for services such as Notifications, Product/Supplier Alerts, and eMagazines.

• Direct Order Forms: We gather details regarding sample and direct orders made by visitors to advertisers on our platform.

• MATCH Service: We collect basic information from buyers who express interest in applying for our MATCH service.

Call Center Operations

• Telemarketing: From time to time, we reach out to individuals to gather insights for market research and surveys, or to assess potential clients for our offerings or those of our advertising partners. This includes identifying potential:

• Attendees for our events and/or online platforms, or

• Advertisers/exhibitors for our events and/or online platforms.

• Customer Support: Users of our website, as well as visitors to our trade shows and prospective advertisers, can reach out to us for inquiries, complaints, suggestions, or feedback through our Customer Service Team. They can do this via our online chat system, hotline, fax, or email.

Moreover, a limited number of potential advertisers may contact us directly. Their information is verified and recorded in our systems.

• Systems Monitoring Features: We utilize Cookies and other similar technologies on our platforms. If the information gathered through Cookies and related technologies qualifies as personal data, the terms outlined in our Cookie Policy are applicable and serve to enhance this Privacy Policy.

• Additional Data Sources: We obtain information from various external sources, including public databases, collaborative marketing partners, and other third parties such as third-party software applications and social media networks. The data acquired from these external sources may be integrated with information collected through our services when necessary to effectively manage our relationship with you.

What Personal Data Do We Collect?

The personal information we gather includes:

Contact and Communication Information

• This encompasses your name, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and social media contact details.

Business Information

• This includes your job title, role, company name, and company demographics, such as the number of employees and annual turnover. Please be aware that contact details are generally work-related, as our objective is to promote B2B trade.

Preferences

• Marketing preferences derived from subscriptions to product/supplier alerts, eMagazines, Trade Show updates, and online behavioral data.

• Display and Language Preferences

Communications

• Details of interactions via calls/messages between:

- Customer service team members and visitors or advertisers/exhibitors

- Sales team members and advertisers/exhibitors or prospects

- Advertisers/exhibitors and online visitors through the Message Center (e.g., RFI, RFQ, RFS)

- Advertisers/exhibitors and online visitors via the Tencent chat feature

Buying & Payment History

• Details regarding sample requests or other orders made between advertisers and site visitors.

• Information on seminars/events booked at Trade Shows.

• Subscriptions to eMagazines.

Device and Log Information

• The internet domain and IP address from which you access our websites and applications.

• The type of browser software and operating system utilized to access our websites and applications.

• The date and time of your access to our websites and applications.

• If you accessed our websites and applications from another site, the address of that referring website (referrer URL), along with:

- The pages you enter, visit, and exit from on our websites and applications.

- Your account login/online identifier.

- Unique device identifiers (such as the MAC Address of the device's wireless network interface or the mobile phone number associated with the device).

Online Behavioral Data

• We employ Cookies and other tracking technologies to monitor activity on our sites, such as:

- Frequency of sessions

- Search terms utilized

- Pages visited and methods of access (for path analysis)

- Products/suppliers inquired about or profiles viewed

- Whitepapers downloaded

- Apps downloaded

- Products saved and suppliers followed

- Products ordered

- Products/suppliers shared on social media

• While this information does not directly identify individuals, it may be linked to profile data for behavioral profiling (please refer to our Cookie Policy for additional details regarding cookies).

Offline Behavioral Data

• Information about trade shows, exhibitions, and conferences attended.

• Exhibitors visited (captured through the B2B.Africa Buyer App).

• Summits/seminars/events attended.

What Do We Use Your Personal Data For?

We utilize your data to deliver our products and services, innovate new offerings, and safeguard B2B.Africa along with our visitors, exhibitors, buyers, suppliers, and advertisers, as outlined below. In certain situations, we may ask you to provide data directly. If you choose not to share the requested data or restrict us from collecting it, we might be unable to fulfill your requests for products and services.

We leverage the data for our legitimate business interests, which include:

• Crafting personalized product recommendations on behalf of online advertisers to present to online visitors via email or phone.

• Promoting relevant B2B.Africa online services (e.g., Product/Supplier Alerts, Magazines) through print direct mail, email campaigns, telemarketing calls, SMS, or other platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn, including third-party agencies.

• Marketing pertinent B2B.Africa Tradeshows and services (e.g., Buyer apps, Summits, Start-Up Launchpad) via print direct mail, email campaigns, telemarketing calls, SMS, or through various platforms including Facebook, LinkedIn, or third-party agencies.

• Compiling contact lists of Online and/or Trade Show visitors who have opted into third-party marketing. These lists are organized based on visitor preferences, behaviors, or demographics and may be rented or sold to verified third-party vendors for direct marketing on behalf of their clients.

• Utilizing third-party marketing materials from our partners (advertisers or service providers) to reach B2B.Africa Online and Trade Show visitors who have opted into third-party marketing. These visitors are segmented based on preferences, behaviors, or demographics through print direct mail, email campaigns, telemarketing calls, SMS, or various platforms including Facebook, LinkedIn, or third-party agencies.

• Creating contact lists for surveys and similar market research initiatives.

• Assisting advertisers and exhibitors in reviewing visitor details for qualification purposes when they receive Requests for Information or similar inquiries from visitors to our Online site or Tradeshows via our Messaging Service. This also facilitates communication between parties through email, phone, or chat regarding such requests.

• Our Customer Services team may utilize your personal data to address your comments, feedback, inquiries, and questions to provide appropriate support that meets your needs and requests.

• Our Technical Support team may use your personal data to (i) aid internal processes such as auditing, data analysis, and research aimed at enhancing our products and services while improving your user experience by delivering more relevant customized content; (ii) detect, investigate, and prevent fraudulent transactions and other illegal activities to protect both your rights and ours.

• Employing the data for purposes related to our legal and regulatory obligations.

We will only utilize your personal data for the aforementioned purposes when we are confident that it is necessary and that its use aligns with one or more of the following legal grounds:

• To comply with applicable legal or regulatory obligations that we are subject to.

• To fulfill obligations under a contract signed between you and us.

• To support 'legitimate interests' that we hold as a business, provided it is conducted in a manner that is proportionate and respects your privacy rights.

• Or exceptionally for clearly defined and limited cases where you have freely given consent.

How Do We Protect Your Personal Data?

While we cannot promise absolute security for your data, we are dedicated to safeguarding both you and ourselves from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction of the personal information we hold.

• We routinely assess our methods for collecting, storing, and processing information, including physical, logical, and organizational security measures, to prevent unauthorized access to our systems and data repositories.

• Our assessments involve hiring external security experts to evaluate the effectiveness of our security protocols.

• Access to personal information is limited to our employees, contractors, and agents who require it to process data on our behalf and who are bound by strict confidentiality agreements.

• We employ robust access control measures, including two-factor authentication, identity and access management, along with stringent password policies.

• Where applicable, we utilize technical solutions such as encryption, pseudonymization, and anonymization to further safeguard data both at rest and in transit.

We encourage you to create a unique and strong password to secure your account, activate the two-factor authentication (2FA) feature we offer, restrict access to your device, and log out after using our services. Additionally, ensure that your device is updated with the latest security patches and is protected by an anti-malware solution at all times.

Please be aware that you are responsible for the personal information you choose to share, disclose, or submit voluntarily while using our website, which may be visible to members of third-party applications or messaging services.

How Long Do We Retain Your Personal Data?

We will keep your personal data for as long as it is reasonably necessary for the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy. Once your personal information is no longer needed, we will ensure it is either securely deleted or stored in a manner that prevents further use by the business.

In certain situations, we may retain your personal information for extended periods, such as when required to comply with legal, regulatory, tax, or accounting obligations, or in the event of any complaints or disputes. We may also retain data if we reasonably believe there is a potential for legal action concerning your personal information or transactions. Typically, this retention should not exceed seven years from the date of our last engagement with you.

Who Do We Share Your Personal Data With?

We may share your personal information with third parties to assist in managing our operations and delivering services as detailed below:

• Service Providers: These entities perform tasks on our behalf, such as processing orders, managing our IT and administrative systems, delivering packages, sending postal mail and emails, eliminating duplicate information from customer lists, analyzing data, offering marketing support, providing search results and links (including paid listings), and delivering customer service.

• Regulatory Authorities and Law Enforcement: This includes data protection authorities and law enforcement agencies in regions such as Hong Kong, the EU, and globally.

• Other Third Parties: We may share your data to detect, prevent, or address fraud, security, or technical issues, and to protect the rights, property, or safety of our users or the general public.

• In the event of any reorganization, merger, sale, joint venture, assignment, transfer, or other disposition of all or part of B2B.Africa's business, assets, or stock (including bankruptcy or similar proceedings), we may disclose or transfer your data to a third party.

Direct Marketing

We may utilize your personal information to send you direct marketing communications regarding our products and services or related offerings based on your preferences. This may be done with your consent or because we have a legitimate interest in doing so, including updates about our latest products and upcoming events. These communications could take the form of emails, SMS, phone calls, or targeted online advertisements. We strive to limit direct marketing to a reasonable level and aim to send you information that we believe will be interesting and relevant to you based on what we know.

You have options regarding how we use your data, and we want to empower you with the information necessary to make choices that suit your needs.

If you wish to stop receiving marketing-related emails, SMS, or printed materials, you can opt out by following the instructions provided in any such communications you receive from us.

Profiling

Using the information we have gathered about you along with your viewing habits and analytics regarding the performance of our content, offers, and advertisements, we personalize the content, offers, and ads presented to you for a more relevant experience.

This process involves profiling: We categorize visitors by applying selection criteria and business rules through software code (and algorithms) to process relevant data semi-automatically and generate personalized content recommendations, such as suggested products that appear in marketing emails or when you visit our sites. If you would like to opt out of receiving personalized content, please reach out to our Customer Services Team or Data Protection Officer (DPO).

Transfers of Personal Data to Non-EU Countries or International Organizations

The information we gather from you may be transferred to, and stored at, locations outside the European Economic Area (EEA). Additionally, it may be processed by personnel operating outside the EEA who are employed by us or one of our service providers. We will take all reasonable measures to ensure that your data is handled securely, in accordance with this privacy policy, and will only transfer your personal information to countries that are either:

• Acknowledged by the European Union as providing an adequate level of data protection, such as the US under the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework, which safeguards personal information transferred to the US. (https://www.privacyshield.gov/article?id=OVERVIEW)

• Or by ensuring that transfers to other non-EU countries are safeguarded by suitable contractual commitments.

You have the right to request additional information regarding the protective measures we have implemented. Please reach out to the Data Protection Officer (DPO).

What Rights Do You Have?

You possess several rights concerning your personal information. Specifically, you have the right to request:

• Access to Your Data

You may ask us to:

- Confirm whether we are processing your personal information.

- Provide you with a copy of that data.

- Offer additional information about your personal information, including what data we hold, its purpose, who we share it with, whether it is transferred internationally and how it is protected, how long we retain it, what rights you possess, how to lodge a complaint, where we obtained your data, and whether any automated decision-making or profiling has occurred, to the extent this information has not already been provided in this notice.

• Rectification

You can request that we correct any inaccurate personal information in our records. We may verify the accuracy of the data before making any corrections.

• Erasure (Right to be Forgotten)

You can ask us to delete your personal information, but only under the following circumstances:

- It is no longer required for the purposes for which it was collected; or

- You have withdrawn your consent (if the processing was based on consent); or

- It follows a successful objection; or

- It has been processed unlawfully; or

- It is necessary to fulfill a legal obligation.

We are not obligated to fulfill your request to delete your personal information if the processing of that information is necessary for:

- Compliance with a legal requirement; or

- The establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims.

Regarding marketing, please be informed that we will maintain a suppression list for individuals who have opted out of receiving marketing communications to ensure that no further messages are sent.

• Restriction

You may request that we restrict (i.e., retain but not use) your personal information, but this is only applicable in the following situations:

- If the accuracy of the information is disputed, allowing us to verify its correctness; or

- If the processing is unlawful, but you prefer not to have it deleted; or

- If it is no longer required for the purposes for which it was collected, yet we still need it to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims; or

- If you have exercised your right to object, and we are in the process of verifying overriding grounds.

We may continue to process your personal information after a restriction request if:

- We have your consent; or

- It is necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims; or

- It is required to protect the rights of another individual or entity.

• Objection

You have the right to object to any processing of your personal information that relies on our "legitimate interests" as its legal basis, especially if you believe that your fundamental rights and freedoms outweigh our legitimate interests. After you submit an objection, we will have the opportunity to demonstrate that we possess compelling legitimate interests that override your rights. However, this does not apply when the objection pertains to the use of personal information for direct marketing purposes.

• Data Portability

You may request that we provide your personal information in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format, or you may ask for it to be transferred directly to another Data Controller. This is permissible only when:

- The processing is based on your consent or the fulfillment of a contract with you; and

- The processing occurs through automated means.

• Information Regarding Automated Processing

This includes activities such as segmentation or profiling based on your data. You have the right to request that you not be subjected to such processing.

• Information on International Transfers

You may inquire about the international transfers of your data.

To exercise your rights, please reach out to us as indicated above. Kindly keep the following in mind if you wish to invoke these rights:

• Objection

We prioritize the confidentiality of all records containing personal information and reserve the right to request proof of identity when you submit a request.

• Fees

We will not charge a fee for you to exercise any of your rights concerning your personal information, unless your request for access is deemed unfounded, repetitive, or excessive. In such cases, we may impose a reasonable fee based on the circumstances.

• Timescales

Our goal is to respond to any legitimate requests within one month. However, if the request is particularly complex or if you have made multiple requests, we aim to respond within three months. Should we need more than one month, we will inform you. We may ask you to clarify what specific information you seek or any concerns you have, which will assist us in processing your request more efficiently.

• Exemptions

Local laws, including those in EU member states, may provide additional exemptions, particularly regarding the right of access, allowing for certain personal information to be withheld under specific circumstances, such as when it is protected by legal privilege.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your supervisory authority (refer to 'Contact Details').

Last updated: 25 September 2024, version 1.0