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Privacy Policy

This policy explains how the SADC Development Finance Resource Centre (“the Centre”, “we”, “us”) handles personal information on SADC-DFRC (the “Platform”), the professional network and learning platform for development finance professionals across the SADC region. We process personal information in line with South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and the data-protection laws applicable in the member states we serve, and we apply GDPR-style safeguards throughout.

1. What we collect

  • Account and profile data — your name, email address, password (stored hashed), and the professional details you add to your profile: role, institution, country, biography, photo, skills and work history.
  • Learning records — course enrolments, lesson progress, assessment results, credentials earned and CPD points.
  • Content you create — posts, comments, group discussions, event registrations, messages to other members, and documents you upload.
  • Technical data — sign-in timestamps, device and browser information, IP address and cookies, used for security and to keep the service working.

2. How we use it

  • to operate the Platform: your profile, network, courses, messages and credentials;
  • to issue and verify credentials and maintain the integrity of learning records;
  • to send service communications such as course updates, event notices and security alerts;
  • to keep the Platform secure and prevent misuse;
  • to understand usage in aggregate and improve the service.

We do not sell personal information, and we do not use it for third-party advertising.

3. What other members can see

The Platform is a professional network. Your name, photo, headline, institution and country are visible to other signed-in members, as are the posts and comments you publish. Direct messages are visible only to their participants. Credential verification pages show the credential, holder name and issue date to anyone you share the verification link with. Your assessment results are not visible to other members.

4. Who we share it with

  • Your institution — where you participate in a programme sponsored by your employer or a member DFI, we may report enrolment and completion status to that institution.
  • Service providers — hosting, email delivery and analytics providers that process data on our behalf under contract. They may not use your data for their own purposes.
  • Legal requirements — where disclosure is required by law or a competent authority.

5. Where data is stored

Platform data is hosted on secure servers in the European Union, with encrypted connections (TLS) for all traffic and encrypted backups. Because members are located across the SADC region, your information is transferred to and from these servers when you use the Platform; we apply the safeguards described in this policy to all such transfers.

6. How long we keep it

We keep your account data while your account is active. If your account is closed we delete or anonymise your profile and content within a reasonable period, except that credential records may be retained so that certificates already issued remain verifiable, and we may retain minimal records where required by law.

7. Your rights

Subject to applicable law, you have the right to:

  • access the personal information we hold about you;
  • correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
  • request deletion of your account and personal information;
  • object to or restrict certain processing;
  • receive a copy of the data you provided in a portable format;
  • lodge a complaint with your data-protection authority — in South Africa, the Information Regulator.

To exercise any of these rights, email SADC-DFRC@socoed.com. We respond to requests within a reasonable time and in any event within the periods required by applicable law.

8. Cookies

We use a session cookie to keep you signed in, a preference cookie to remember your language, and first-party analytics to understand how the Platform is used. We do not use third-party advertising cookies. Blocking cookies in your browser may prevent sign-in from working.

9. Security

We protect personal information with industry-standard measures: encrypted transport, hashed passwords, access controls limiting staff access to what their role requires, and monitored, encrypted backups. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affecting your personal information occurs we will notify you and the relevant authority as required by law.

10. Children

The Platform is built for working professionals in the development finance sector and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The current version will always be available on this page, and we will notify you on the Platform of material changes before they take effect.

12. Contact

Privacy questions and information requests: SADC-DFRC@socoed.com

Version 1.0 — July 2026