Privacy Policy

1.1. Esinako Investments CC ("LinkNamibia," "we," "us," or "our"), a company registered under the laws of the Republic of Namibia, is committed to protecting and respecting the privacy of all individuals who use our marketplace platform ("Platform").

1.2. This Privacy Policy ("Policy") explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect your personal information when you access or use the Platform. It also describes your rights regarding your personal data and how you may exercise them.

1.3. This Policy is governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Namibia, including the Electronic Transactions Act (No. 4 of 2019) and any applicable data protection provisions under Namibian law.

1.4. By accessing or using the Platform, you consent to the collection, use, and processing of your personal information as described in this Policy. If you do not agree with this Policy, you should not use the Platform.

2.1. We collect the following categories of personal information:

2.2. Account Information

When you register for an account, we collect your full name, email address, telephone number, and city or town of residence. This information is necessary to create and manage your account.

2.3. Profile Information

If you register as an Artisan, we may collect additional profile information, including your biographical description, areas of expertise, years of experience, hourly rate or pricing information, and portfolio images or descriptions of previous work.

2.4. Verification Documents

Artisans may submit documents for identity and qualification verification, including copies of national identity documents (e.g., Namibian ID card or passport), trade certificates, professional licenses, and proof of insurance. These documents are collected solely for the purpose of verification.

2.5. Usage Data

We automatically collect certain technical information when you access the Platform, including your device type and operating system, Internet Protocol (IP) address, browser type and version, pages visited and interactions with the Platform, date and time of access, and referring website or application.

2.6. Communication Data

We collect and store messages exchanged between Users through the Platform's messaging system, as well as communications between Users and our support team, including support tickets and email correspondence.

3.1. We use your personal information for the following purposes:

3.1.1. Provide and improve Platform services: To create and manage your account, display your profile to other Users, facilitate connections between Customers and Artisans, and continually improve the functionality and user experience of the Platform.

3.1.2. Match Artisans with Customer requests: To present relevant Artisan profiles to Customers based on location, skills, availability, and other criteria specified in Service Requests.

3.1.3. Verify Artisan identity and qualifications: To review and validate documents submitted by Artisans as part of our verification process.

3.1.4. Send notifications: To communicate with you via email and in-app notifications regarding account activity, Service Requests, Job updates, platform announcements, and other relevant information.

3.1.5. Prevent fraud and ensure safety: To detect and prevent fraudulent activity, abuse, security incidents, and other harmful conduct on the Platform, and to protect the rights, property, and safety of our Users and the public.

3.1.6. Comply with legal obligations: To fulfill our obligations under applicable Namibian law, including responding to lawful requests from government authorities and regulatory bodies.

4.1. We process your personal information on the following legal bases:

4.1.1. Consent: Where you have given clear and informed consent for us to process your personal information for a specific purpose, such as when you create an account, submit verification documents, or opt in to marketing communications.

4.1.2. Contract performance: Where processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party, specifically our Terms and Conditions, or to take steps at your request prior to entering into such a contract.

4.1.3. Legitimate interests: Where processing is necessary for the legitimate interests pursued by LinkNamibia, including maintaining the security and integrity of the Platform, improving our services, and preventing fraud, provided that such interests are not overridden by your fundamental rights and freedoms.

4.1.4. Legal obligations: Where processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which LinkNamibia is subject under the laws of the Republic of Namibia.

5.1. With other Users: Your profile information, including your name, bio, skills, experience, and ratings, is visible to other Users of the Platform. Your contact details (email address and telephone number) are not disclosed to other Users unless and until a Job match is established, at which point limited contact information may be shared to facilitate communication between the matched Customer and Artisan.

5.2. With service providers: We share personal information with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating the Platform, including:

• Supabase — for database hosting, authentication services, and file storage;
• Resend — for transactional email delivery;
• Vercel — for web application hosting and deployment.

These service providers are contractually obligated to process your data only as necessary to provide their services to us and in accordance with applicable data protection standards.

5.3. With authorities: We may disclose your personal information to law enforcement agencies, regulatory authorities, courts, or other governmental bodies when required to do so by Namibian law, or when we reasonably believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.

5.4. No sale of personal data: We do not sell, rent, lease, or trade your personal information to any third party for marketing or any other purpose. Your data is never monetized or provided to advertisers.

6.1. Your personal data is stored on cloud infrastructure provided by our third-party service providers. As Namibia does not currently have local data center infrastructure sufficient for our needs, your data may be stored on servers located outside the Republic of Namibia, including in Singapore and the United States. Such transfers are made with appropriate safeguards in place as described in Section 11 of this Policy.

6.2. We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:

6.2.1. Encryption in transit: All data transmitted between your device and our servers is encrypted using Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols.

6.2.2. Encryption at rest: Personal data stored in our databases is encrypted at rest using industry-standard encryption algorithms.

6.2.3. Row-level security: Our database implements row-level security (RLS) policies to ensure that Users can only access data that they are authorized to view.

6.2.4. Access controls: Access to personal data is restricted to authorized personnel who require such access to perform their duties. All access is subject to strict authentication and authorization protocols.

6.2.5. Regular security reviews: We conduct periodic security assessments and reviews to identify and address potential vulnerabilities in our systems.

6.3. While we take reasonable measures to protect your information, no method of electronic storage or transmission over the Internet is completely secure. We cannot guarantee the absolute security of your data.

7.1. We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by applicable Namibian law. Our retention periods are as follows:

7.1.1. Account data: Your account information (name, email, phone number, city) is retained for the duration of your active account plus two (2) years following account closure or deletion.

7.1.2. Verification documents: Identity documents, trade certificates, and other verification materials are retained for a period of five (5) years from the date of submission, in compliance with Namibian record-keeping requirements and to support fraud prevention efforts.

7.1.3. Usage data: Technical and usage data is retained for a period of twelve (12) months from the date of collection, after which it is anonymized or deleted.

7.2. You may request the deletion of your personal data at any time by contacting us using the details provided in Section 13. Please note that deletion requests are subject to our legal obligations to retain certain data for the periods specified above.

7.3. Upon expiration of the applicable retention period, your personal data will be securely deleted or irreversibly anonymized.

8.1. Subject to applicable Namibian law, you have the following rights in relation to your personal information:

8.1.1. Right of access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you and information about how it is being processed.

8.1.2. Right to rectification: You have the right to request the correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data held about you.

8.1.3. Right to deletion: You have the right to request the deletion of your personal data, subject to our legal obligations to retain certain information as specified in Section 7.

8.1.4. Right to withdraw consent: Where we process your data based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out prior to the withdrawal.

8.1.5. Right to object: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests as the legal basis for processing.

8.1.6. Right to data portability: You have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format, and to request the transfer of such data to another service provider where technically feasible.

8.1.7. Right to lodge a complaint: If you believe that your privacy rights have been violated, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant Namibian regulatory authority, including the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN), or to seek redress through the courts of the Republic of Namibia.

8.2. To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided in Section 13. We will respond to your request within a reasonable period, and in any event within thirty (30) days of receipt.

9.1. The Platform uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your experience and to collect usage information.

9.2. Essential cookies: We use essential cookies that are strictly necessary for the operation of the Platform, including cookies required for user authentication, session management, and security. These cookies cannot be disabled as they are required for the Platform to function properly.

9.3. Analytics cookies: We may use analytics cookies to collect aggregated, anonymized information about how Users interact with the Platform, in order to understand usage patterns and improve our services. Where analytics cookies are used, you will be given the option to accept or decline them.

9.4. You may configure your browser to refuse cookies or to alert you when cookies are being sent. Please note that disabling essential cookies may impair your ability to use certain features of the Platform.

10.1. The Platform is not intended for use by individuals under the age of eighteen (18) years. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18.

10.2. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child under 18, we will take immediate steps to delete such information from our systems.

10.3. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child has provided personal information to LinkNamibia, please contact us immediately using the details provided in Section 13.

11.1. As described in Section 6, your personal data may be transferred to, stored in, and processed in countries outside the Republic of Namibia, including the United States and Singapore, where our service providers maintain their infrastructure.

11.2. When we transfer your data internationally, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your personal information, including:

11.2.1. Contractual obligations on our service providers to maintain appropriate levels of data protection;

11.2.2. Implementation of technical security measures, including encryption, to protect data during transfer and storage;

11.2.3. Selection of service providers who adhere to recognized international data protection standards and frameworks.

11.3. By using the Platform, you consent to the transfer of your personal data to countries outside Namibia as described in this section.

12.1. We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors.

12.2. For material changes to this Policy, we will provide at least thirty (30) days' notice through the Platform, by email, or by other reasonable means before the changes take effect.

12.3. The revised Policy will be posted on the Platform with an updated "Last updated" date. Your continued use of the Platform after the effective date of the revised Policy constitutes your acceptance of the changes.

12.4. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your personal information.

13.1. For any questions, concerns, or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or the processing of your personal data, please contact our data protection team:

13.2. For general platform support inquiries, please contact support@linknamibia.com.