Privacy policy

Last updated: May 21, 2026

1. Introduction

The AI for Uganda Initiative ("we," "our," "us") is committed to protecting your privacy and safeguarding your personal data. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website, utilize our Learner Portal, apply for our programs, or interact with our services. This policy is designed to comply with international best practices, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and is explicitly governed by the Ugandan Data Protection and Privacy Act, 2019.

2. Consent

By accessing our website or submitting your personal details through our forms, you explicitly consent to the collection, storage, and processing of your personal data as described in this policy. If you do not agree with these terms, please do not use our services.

3. Information we collect

We collect personal information directly from you when you apply for our training, register on our portal, subscribe to newsletters, or engage in partnership inquiries. The types of personal data we collect include:

• Identity and Contact Details: Full name, primary email address, active phone number (WhatsApp enabled), physical address/location, and emergency contact details.
• Demographics and Social Profile: Gender, age, educational background (current status, institutions attended, degrees obtained), and employment status.
• Application Insights: Details about your motivations, career goals, technical proficiency, programming experience, and why you wish to enroll in our artificial intelligence cohorts.
• Usage and Technical Data: IP address, device type, browser settings, operating system, pages visited, and interaction durations cached through cookies and standard web analytics.

4. Legal basis for processing

In accordance with Section 13 of the Ugandan Data Protection and Privacy Act, 2019, and Article 6 of the GDPR, we process your personal data under the following legal bases:

• Consent: You have given clear, specific, and unambiguous consent for us to process your data for specific purposes (e.g., subscribing to newsletters, submitting enrollment applications).
• Contract fulfillment: The processing is necessary for a contract we have with you, or because you have asked us to take specific steps before entering into a contract (e.g., managing your student registry, processing course enrollments, issuing graduation certificates).
• Public interest and Research: Developing Uganda's artificial intelligence capabilities, compiling aggregated educational performance reports, and conducting non-identifying research to solve real-world development challenges.
• Legal obligation: To comply with legal, regulatory, or administrative requirements issued by Ugandan national authorities (e.g., NITA-U, the Data Protection Office).

5. How we use your information

We process your personal information for the following specific, explicit, and legitimate purposes:

• To administer, evaluate, and select candidates for our specialized AI cohorts.
• To operate our Learner Portal, distribute learning materials, track academic milestones, and support classroom activities.
• To communicate updates, newsletters, marketing materials, and information regarding upcoming cohorts, guest lectures, and events.
• To process program fee transactions securely through our authorized payment processors.
• To compile anonymized demographic datasets to help our public-sector partners understand and bridge Uganda's technology skill gaps.
• To maintain security, perform troubleshooting, and prevent fraudulent activity on our servers.

6. Data sharing and third-party disclosure

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. We may disclose your personal data in the following restricted scenarios:

• Authorized service providers: We share essential data with reputable service partners who provide platform hosting, payment processing, transactional emails, database maintenance, and analytics. These providers are bound by strict confidentiality covenants.
• Research and Partner institutions: We may share aggregated, fully anonymized statistical data with university partners, government agencies, and research institutions to advocate for AI integration and data access.
• Legal obligations: We will disclose personal data if required to do so by a court order, regulatory mandate, or applicable law to protect our rights, safety, or public interest.

7. Data security and encryption

We employ rigorous technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal data from unauthorized access, accidental alteration, loss, or destruction:

• All data in transit is protected using industry-standard Transport Layer Security (TLS/HTTPS) encryption.
• Stored information, databases, and backup files are encrypted at rest using advanced hashing standards (AES-256) behind secure, firewall-protected virtual private clouds.
• Strict access-control protocols limit personal data viewing to only authorized staff members directly managing program selections and cohort operations.

8. Data retention policies

We retain your personal data only for as long as is necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, or to satisfy legal, regulatory, and reporting requirements:

• Application records: Personal data of candidates whose applications are not selected will be fully deleted or irreversibly anonymized within twelve (12) months from the cohort's commencement date.
• Student and Alumni registries: To support academic credential verification, we retain basic graduation logs, certificates issued, and program completion histories indefinitely, unless an erasure request is legally made.
• General inquiries and Contact forms: Information submitted via general contact forms is deleted after eighteen (18) months from the date of the last active communication.

9. Your data protection rights

Under the Ugandan Data Protection and Privacy Act, 2019, and the GDPR, you possess absolute, enforceable rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of access: You have the right to request a digital copy of all personal details we hold about you.
• Right to rectification: You have the right to request immediate correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Right to erasure ("Right to be forgotten"): You may request the deletion of your personal records under certain conditions, such as when consent is withdrawn.
• Right to restriction of processing: You have the right to request that we temporarily suspend the processing of your data while resolving a dispute.
• Right to object: You can object at any time to the processing of your data for direct marketing, academic research, or statistical compilation.

To exercise any of these rights, please submit a formal request to our designated compliance officer at info@aiforuganda.org. We will respond within fourteen (14) business days.

10. Cookies policy

Our website utilizes cookies to recognize your browser, enhance navigation layout, and record visitor analytics. You can adjust your browser configurations to decline all cookies or notify you when a cookie is sent. Disabling cookies may prevent certain portal layouts from operating optimally.

11. Contact information

For inquiries, complaints, clarifications, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact our compliance desk:

AI for Uganda Initiative
Compliance and Legal Relations Office
Address: P.O. Box 424921, Mbarara, Uganda
Email: info@aiforuganda.org