Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Voila Africa ("we," "us," "our," "the Platform") provides a platform that helps African students and recent graduates discover scholarships, internships, and fellowships, and offers additional tools including a CV builder, mentorship matching, and opportunity discovery. This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have.

This Policy applies to our mobile application, our web application (app.voila-africa.com), and our website (voila-africa.com).

If you have questions about this Policy, contact us at support@voila-africa.com.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information you provide directly

• Account information: name, email address, phone number, password
• Academic information: institution, degree level, field of study, graduation year
• Profile information: interests, career preferences, opportunity preferences
• CV/resume content you create using the CV Builder
• Mentorship information: availability, session notes, messages exchanged with mentors or mentees
• Payment information processed through our payment provider, Paystack (we do not store full card details ourselves)
• Communications you send us, including support requests

2.2 Information collected automatically

• Device information (device type, operating system, app version)
• Usage data (features used, pages viewed, session duration)
• Log data (IP address, access times, crash reports)
• Cookies and similar technologies on our website (see Section 8)

2.3 Information from third parties

• If you sign in using a third-party service (e.g. Google), we may receive basic profile information from that service
• Scholarship, internship, and fellowship listings may be sourced from public or partner sources

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• Create and manage your account
• Match you with relevant opportunities, mentors, and mentorship sessions
• Operate the CV Builder and save your CV content
• Process payments for any paid features
• Send you service-related communications (deadline reminders, digest emails, account notices)
• Send you marketing communications where you have opted in (you may opt out at any time)
• Improve and personalize the Platform
• Detect, prevent, and address fraud, abuse, or technical issues
• Comply with legal obligations

4. Legal Basis for Processing

Where applicable, we process your personal data on the following bases:

• Consent — for optional communications and certain optional features
• Contract — to provide the services you've signed up for
• Legitimate interest — to improve our Platform and keep it secure
• Legal obligation — where required by applicable law

We aim to comply with Ghana's Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843), and, where applicable to users in other jurisdictions, comparable data protection standards.

5. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal data. We share information with:

• Service providers — who help us operate the Platform, including:
  • Supabase (database and backend infrastructure)
  • Resend and Zoho Mail (email delivery)
  • Paystack (payment processing)
  • Jitsi (video sessions for mentorship)
• Mentors or mentees — limited to the profile and session information necessary to facilitate mentorship
• Legal authorities — where required by law, court order, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Voila Africa, our users, or others
• A successor entity — in the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, subject to this Policy or a comparable one

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active, or as needed to provide you services. If you delete your account, we will delete or anonymize your personal data within 30 days, except where we are required to retain it for legal, tax, or security purposes.

7. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Correct inaccurate data
• Request deletion of your data
• Object to or restrict certain processing
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
• Request a copy of your data in a portable format

To exercise these rights, contact us at support@voila-africa.com. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling your request.

8. Cookies (Website)

Our website (voila-africa.com) may use cookies and similar technologies to remember your preferences (including language selection), understand site usage, and improve performance. You can control cookies through your browser settings.

9. Data Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your data, including encryption in transit and access controls on our backend infrastructure. However, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. International Data Transfers

Your data may be processed and stored on servers located outside your country of residence, including through our infrastructure and service providers. Where this occurs, we take steps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place.

11. Children's Privacy

The Platform is intended for users who are at least 16 years old. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under this age. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us so we can take appropriate action.

12. Third-Party Links

Opportunity listings and other content on the Platform may link to third-party websites (e.g. scholarship providers, application portals). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those third parties. Please review their privacy policies separately.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes through the Platform or by email. Continued use of the Platform after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy.

14. Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, contact us at:

Email: support@voila-africa.com
Address: KNUST, Kumasi