Bridgevest strongly believes in protecting your privacy and the confidentiality of your personal information. In order to explain how Bridgevest collects, uses and protects personal information, we have developed this privacy policy. Personal information is any combination of information, in the possession of or likely to come into the possession of Bridgevest, that can be used to identify, contact, or locate a discrete individual (“Personal Information”) and will be treated in accordance with this privacy policy. This includes any expression of opinion about such individual. Any information which cannot be used to identify a discrete individual (such as aggregated statistical information) is not personal information.

This privacy policy covers the information practices of websites that link to this privacy policy (each referred to as a “Site”). The data controller of this website is Bridgevest Partners (Pty) Limited (“Bridgevest”), registration number 2024/032272/07 and whose registered office is:

Bridgevest Partners (Pty) Limited,
1^st Floor, Ou Kollege, 35 Church Street, Stellenbosch, 7600, South Africa

PURPOSE FOR COLLECTION, USE AND DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

Bridgevest collects, uses and discloses your personal information (including individuals associated with you, all of whom are referred to as “you” in this privacy policy) in its normal course of business for the following purposes:

• Establishing and maintaining communications with you;
• Where you have requested a service from Bridgevest, assisting you in the completion of your application, the assessment of your eligibility for any such requested service, the processing and maintenance of the service, as well as any applicable renewal of such service;
• Responding to your inquiries about applications, accounts and other services;
• Making proposals for future service needs;
• Allowing our affiliated companies to notify you of certain products or services offered by our affiliated companies;
• Processing transactions through service providers;
• Meeting legal, security, processing and regulatory requirements;
• Protecting against fraud, suspicious or other illegal activities; and
• Compiling statistics for analysis of our sites and our business.

WHAT INFORMATION WE COLLECT

The information gathered by Bridgevest from this site falls into two categories: (1) information voluntarily supplied by visitors to our site and (2) tracking information gathered as visitors navigate through our site.

Information voluntarily provided by you

When using this site, you may choose to provide us with information to help us serve your needs. The personal information that we collect will depend on how you choose to use this site.

• Where you request a brochure or report: If you request a brochure or report or further information from us, we require you to submit your name, email address, the name of your organization, and the country in which you are based so we may send you the material you have requested.

Any personal information that you send us will be used for the purpose indicated on the site or in this privacy policy.

Following the proposal, if you decide to proceed, we will collect personal information necessary to finalize the relevant proposal and proceed with the transaction, such as your name, address, post code, contact telephone number, email address, billing address or payment details, as relevant to the proposal.

• Where you submit content: Finally, if you submit content regarding any of the information that you view on our site, we will ask for your name and email address, so that, if you choose, we can update you by email when others also comment on the content, and also so that we can manage the content in line with our acceptable use policy. You should be aware that the information you provide there will be made publicly available to Bridgevest employees and other users of the site.

Website Navigational Information / Cookies

As you navigate the site, we may also collect information through the use of commonly-used information-gathering tools, such as cookies and web beacons (collectively “Website Navigational Information”). Website Navigational Information includes standard information from your web browser (such as browser type and browser language), your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, and the actions you take on the site (such as the web pages viewed and the links clicked).

Business Transactions

As we continue to develop our business, we might sell or buy assets. In such transactions, user information, including personal information, generally is one of the transferred business assets. Also, if either Bridgevest itself or substantially all of Bridgevest assets were acquired, your personal information may be one of the transferred assets. Therefore, we may disclose and/or transfer your personal information to a third party purchaser in these circumstances.

Other Legally Required Disclosures

Bridgevest preserves the right to disclose without your prior permission any personal information about you or your use of this site if Bridgevest has a good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) protect and defend the rights, property or safety of Bridgevest, employees, other users of this site, or the public; (b) enforce the terms and conditions that apply to use of this site; (c) as required by a legally valid request from a competent governmental authority; or (d) respond to claims that any content violates the rights of third-parties. We may also disclose personal information as we deem necessary to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request

In this privacy policy, the purposes identified above and in “Collection, Use and Disclosure of Personal Information” will be referred to as the “Identified Purposes.”

CONSENT

Your knowledge of and consent to Bridgevest’s collection, use and disclosure of your personal information is critical. We rely on the following actions by you as indications of your consent to our existing and future personal information practices:

• Your voluntary provision of personal information to us directly;
• Your verbal consent solicited by Bridgevest (or our agent) for a specified purpose.

Where Bridgevest relies on consent for the fair and lawful processing of personal information, the opportunity to consent will be provided when the personal information in question is collected. Your consent may be given through your authorized representative such as a legal guardian, agent or holder of a power of attorney.

Subject to certain legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice, you may withdraw this consent at any time. Bridgevest will inform you of the consequences of withdrawing your consent.

If you wish to withdraw your consent please refer to the Questions or to Withdraw Consent section below.

However, there are a number of instances where Bridgevest does not require your consent to engage in the processing or disclosure of personal information. Bridgevest may not solicit your consent for the processing or transfer of Personal information for those purposes which have a statutory basis, such as:

• The transfer or processing is necessary for the performance of a contract between you and Bridgevest (or one of its affiliates);
• The transfer or processing is necessary for the performance of a contract, concluded in your interest, between Bridgevest (or one of its affiliates) and a third party;
• The transfer or processing is necessary, or legally required, on important public interest grounds, for the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims, or to protect your vital interests; or
• The transfer or processing is required by applicable law.

LIMITING COLLECTION AND RETENTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

Bridgevest will collect, use, or disclose personal information that is necessary for the Identified Purposes or as permitted by law. If we require personal information for any other purpose, you will be notified of the new purpose, and subject to your consent (where appropriate), that new purpose will become an Identified Purpose.

Bridgevest will collect personal information by fair and lawful means. We will normally retain personal information as long as necessary for the fulfillment of the Identified Purposes. However, some personal information may be retained for longer periods as required by law, contract, or auditing requirements.

SAFEGUARDS

We have in place physical, electronic and procedural safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information we maintain regarding Clients and Participants. Safeguards will vary depending on the sensitivity, format, location, amount, distribution and storage of the personal information. They include physical, technical, and managerial measures to keep personal information protected from unauthorized access. Among such safeguards are the encryption of communications via SSL, encryption of information while it is in storage, firewalls, access controls, separation of duties, and similar security protocols. However, due to the nature of the Internet and related technology, we cannot absolutely guarantee the security of personal information, and Bridgevest expressly disclaims any such obligation.

EXTERNAL LINKS

Bridgevest sites may include links to other websites whose privacy policies we do not control. Once you leave our servers (you can tell where you are by checking the URL in the location bar on your web browser), use of any personal information you provide is governed by the privacy policy of the operator of the website you are visiting. That policy may differ from ours. If you can’t find the privacy policy of any of these websites via a link from the website’s homepage, you should contact the website directly for more information.

ACCURACY, ACCOUNTABILITY, OPENNESS AND CUSTOMER ACCESS

Our knowing about changes to some of your personal information (e.g. email address) may be key to effectively communicating with you at your request. If any of your details change you can update us by emailing us at info@bridgevest.co.za or log in to the site and update your contact information. Please keep us informed of changes to your personal information.

You have the right to access your personal information and request rectification of any personal information in the file that may be obsolete, incomplete or incorrect. However, to secure your personal information, Bridgevest does not provide online access to its customers to view or amend personal information in its database.

If you have any questions about this privacy policy, want to access your personal information or wish to make a complaint about this privacy policy, you can do so by writing to our Head of Privacy at the following address:

Bridgevest Partners (Pty) Limited,
1^st Floor, Ou Kollege, 35 Church Street, Stellenbosch, 7600, South Africa

Your personal information will be stored and can also be accessed at the Bridgevest office with which you do business.

A copy of this privacy policy (and any significant changes) can be obtained from our website.

QUESTIONS OR TO WITHDRAW CONSENT

You may exercise your right to withdraw your consent to applicable uses or disclosures of your personal information (which may limit or terminate the products and services that Bridgevest provides to you) by writing to us at the above address. We will need to validate the identity of anyone making such a request to ensure that we do not provide your information to anyone who does not have the right to such information.

Normally we will respond to access requests within 30 days.

CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

The privacy policy is subject to change at any time. It was last changed on 17 October, 2024. If we make changes to this privacy policy, we will update the date it was last changed. Any changes we make to this privacy policy become effective immediately when we post the revised privacy policy on this site. We recommend that you review this privacy policy regularly for changes.