Privacy Policy — Female Founders Initiative Global

Female Founders Initiative Global (FFIG) is committed to protecting the personal information of everyone who visits our website, joins our community, applies for an opportunity or attends our events.

This policy explains what we collect, why we collect it, who we share it with, and the choices you have.

Who we are

FFIG is a nonprofit organisation focused on women's economic empowerment, with offices in the United Arab Emirates and South Africa. For any question about this policy or your information, contact us at admin@femalefoundersinitiative.com.

What we collect

We only collect information you give us, or that is created when you use the website.

Contact details you submit — name, email address, telephone number — when you use our contact form, subscribe to updates, or enquire about partnership.

Membership information when you join, including the details needed to manage your membership.

Application information when you apply for a job, consultancy, internship, volunteer or advisory position: your personal and professional details, qualifications, identity document, CV, references and supporting documents.

Event information when you register for or buy a ticket to an event.

Your signature and the details you enter when you sign our Code of Conduct.

Technical information collected automatically: the pages you visit, an anonymous visitor identifier stored in your browser, your approximate location derived from your network, and the website or advertisement that referred you.

Why we use it

To respond to your enquiries and provide the services you ask for.

To manage memberships, applications, event registrations and ticketing.

To send you information you have asked to receive, including newsletters and event updates.

To understand how our website and campaigns are performing, so we can improve them.

To meet our legal, accounting and governance obligations.

Cookies and tracking

Our website uses cookies — small files stored by your browser.

Essential cookies keep the site working: they remember your session, protect forms against misuse, and record your cookie choice.

Analytics and advertising cookies help us understand how people find and use the site, and measure whether our campaigns reach the right people. These only load if you accept them.

You can accept or decline non-essential cookies when you first visit, and you can change your mind at any time by clearing the cookies your browser has stored for this site. Declining does not limit your use of the website.

Email tracking

When we send you an email, we record whether it was opened and whether links in it were clicked. This tells us which of our communications are useful and helps us send fewer, better emails. Every email we send includes an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing takes effect immediately.

Who we share information with

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with the service providers who help us run FFIG, and only as far as they need it:

Amazon Web Services — website hosting, file storage and email delivery.

Meta (Facebook and Instagram) — measurement of website visits and advertising performance, where you have accepted analytics cookies.

Stripe, through the FFIG mobile application — payment processing for memberships and event tickets. FFIG does not store your card details at any point.

Wix — our forms inbox and contact records, where a form you complete is delivered to our team.

Independent verification providers — for job and advisory applications only, and only for background, qualification and reference checking, as set out in the application form you complete.

How long we keep it

We keep personal information for as long as we need it for the purpose it was collected, and for as long as the law requires. Application documents are kept for the duration of the recruitment process and a reasonable period afterwards. Signed Code of Conduct records are kept for the duration of membership and afterwards as a record of the agreement. If you unsubscribe, we keep a record of your email address specifically so that we do not contact you again.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you have the right to

Ask what personal information we hold about you and request a copy.

Ask us to correct information that is wrong or incomplete.

Ask us to delete your information, where we are not required to keep it.

Withdraw your consent at any time, including by unsubscribing from emails or declining cookies.

Object to how we use your information, or ask us to restrict it.

Complain to your data protection regulator if you believe we have handled your information improperly.

To exercise any of these, email admin@femalefoundersinitiative.com. We will respond as promptly as we can.

Keeping your information safe

The website is served over an encrypted connection, uploaded documents are stored in access-controlled storage, and administrative access is limited to the people who need it. No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect what you entrust to us.

Children

Our website and services are intended for adults in business. We do not knowingly collect information from children.

International transfers

FFIG operates internationally, and the providers listed above may process information outside your country. Where that happens, we rely on the safeguards those providers put in place.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as our services change. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last revised.