Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 2026

Who we are

LinkHaus ("LinkHaus", "we", "us") helps organisations grow, connects people to the right resources, and develops and runs programmes such as Phakama. This policy explains how we collect, use and protect personal information, in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).

What we collect

Depending on how you interact with LinkHaus, we may collect:

• Contact details you give us, such as your name, email address and phone number.
• Information you submit when applying to a programme such as Phakama, including your personal situation, your answers to screening questions, your province and city, and your date of birth.
• Information you submit through a partnership or sponsorship enquiry.
• Basic usage information such as pages visited and actions taken on our website (for example, clicking a "Work With Us" or "Apply" button), which helps us understand how the website is used.

Please do not submit identity numbers, banking details, medical records or other sensitive information unless LinkHaus specifically requests it through an appropriate secure process.

Why we collect it

We collect and use personal information to:

• Respond to enquiries from organisations, funders, partners and sponsors.
• Assess and process applications to LinkHaus programmes, including Phakama.
• Communicate with applicants and participants about the status of their application.
• Administer signed participant agreements and programme enrolment.
• Understand how our website is used, so we can improve it.
• Meet our legal, regulatory and reporting obligations.

How long we keep it

Our standard schedule keeps anonymous website interaction records for about 13 months and closed enquiries or declined applications for up to 24 months, unless a shorter or longer period is required by law, a funder agreement, an active dispute or a documented safeguarding need. Expired declined applications are anonymised and expired closed enquiries are deleted by an audited retention process. Participant and signed-agreement records may be kept for the applicable contractual and statutory period.

Who may access it

Personal information submitted to LinkHaus is only accessible to authorised LinkHaus personnel, and, where relevant to your participation in a specific programme, to the programme partners directly involved in delivering that support. We do not sell personal information, and application or screening answers are never published or made publicly accessible.

How we protect it

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), access-controlled administration systems, role-based access for LinkHaus staff, and secure storage of signed agreements that are never publicly accessible.

Your rights

Under POPIA, you have the right to:

• Ask us what personal information we hold about you.
• Ask us to correct inaccurate or outdated information.
• Ask us to delete personal information we no longer have a valid reason to keep.
• Object to certain uses of your personal information.
• Withdraw consent where our use of your information relies on consent.

Applying to a LinkHaus programme

Submitting an application, such as an application to Phakama, does not guarantee a place in the programme. By submitting an application, you confirm that the information you provide is accurate to the best of your knowledge, and you consent to LinkHaus processing that information for the purpose of programme selection and administration as described in this policy.

Consent and follow-up

Programme registrations and partner enquiries ask for your consent before submission. We use the contact details you provide to respond to that request and, where you have registered interest, to share relevant updates. You can ask us to stop non-essential follow-up at any time.

Optional website analytics are disabled unless you select “Allow analytics”. Your choice is stored in your browser and can be cleared through your browser's site-data controls.

Contact us

If you have a question about this policy, or want to exercise any of the rights above, contact us at thandiwe@linkhaus.co.za.