Privacy Policy and Terms

Updated October 2026 to reflect Botswana's Data Protection Act, 2024. This policy should be reviewed by a qualified legal adviser in Botswana before it is relied on. Members outside Botswana may also have rights under their own country's laws.

1. Who we are

PutYouthOn (PYO) is a youth-led platform founded in Botswana by Mandipa Hlabano. We are the data controller for personal data collected through this website. Contact us through our contact form.

2. The law we follow

We handle personal data in line with Botswana's Data Protection Act, 2024 (Act No. 18 of 2024), which came into force on 14 January 2025 and is overseen by the Information and Data Protection Commission (the Commission). In this policy, "personal data" means any information that identifies you or could be used to identify you.

3. What we collect

Member accounts: your name, email address and password (handled securely by our platform provider, Wix; we never see your password).
Member profiles (optional): country, nationality, age range, education, field of study, background, interests, preferences and goals.
Saved opportunities and application tracker: visible only to you.
Newsletter: your email address, topics and a record of your consent.
Forms: the details you provide when submitting an opportunity, applying for the Founders Spotlight or sending an enquiry.

We do not ask for passport details, identity documents or financial details during registration. Please do not include sensitive personal data, such as health information or religious or political beliefs, in your profile or forms.

4. Why we use it and our lawful basis

To run your account and show you relevant opportunities: to provide the service you signed up for (performance of a contract).
To send personalised opportunity alerts and the newsletter: your consent, given separately for each, which you can withdraw at any time.
To review submissions and Founders Spotlight applications: our legitimate interests in running PutYouthOn and keeping listings accurate.
To publish Founders Spotlight stories and photos: your explicit consent.
To keep records we are required to keep: compliance with our legal obligations.

Essential account messages (such as email verification and password resets), personalised alerts and the marketing newsletter are separate. Creating an account does not subscribe you to the newsletter.

5. Opportunity matching

Your dashboard suggests opportunities by comparing your profile with each opportunity's published criteria. These matches are suggestions only. They do not decide whether you can apply, and PutYouthOn does not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing.

6. Children and young people

Under Botswana law a child is anyone under 18. You can create an account yourself from the age of 16. If you are under 16, a parent or guardian must give consent for you to use an account, and we make reasonable efforts to confirm that consent. Opportunities and programmes for under-18s may need further consent from a parent or guardian.

7. Sharing

We do not sell your personal information. Member profiles, application tracking and contact details are never shown to other users, and we do not share your details with opportunity providers. Data is stored with our website platform provider (Wix) as our processor. We publish Founders Spotlight stories, photographs and organisation details only with your explicit permission. We disclose data to authorities only where the law requires it.

8. Where your data is stored and international transfers

Our website runs on Wix, which acts as our data processor and stores data on servers that may be outside Botswana. Under the Act, personal data may only be transferred outside Botswana to a country with an adequate level of protection or with appropriate safeguards in place, such as contractual terms that protect your data. We rely on these safeguards for our platform provider and, where the Act requires it, keep a copy of transferred personal data in Botswana.

9. Retention

Account and profile data: while your account is active. We delete it when you delete your account or ask us to.
Unsuccessful submissions: deleted after 12 months.
Newsletter: until you unsubscribe, plus a record of your consent for as long as we need to prove it.

10. Your choices

Edit your profile and alert preferences at any time in your dashboard.
Unsubscribe from the newsletter with the link in any email or on the newsletter page.
Delete your account from your dashboard (Account and privacy).

11. Website storage

The website saves a small session token in your browser so you can stay signed in and forms can connect to our platform. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies.

12. Security

We use technical and organisational measures to protect personal data, including HTTPS encryption, private records that only authorised team members can read, spam protection on forms, and asking only for the information we need. Member accounts use secure authentication provided by our platform. No system is completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect your information.

13. Data breaches

If a breach affects personal data we hold, we will notify the Information and Data Protection Commission within 72 hours of becoming aware of it, as the Act requires, and we will tell you without undue delay if the breach is likely to result in a high risk to your rights and freedoms.

14. Your rights

Under the Act you have the right to:

Be informed about how your personal data is used, which is the purpose of this policy.
Access the personal data we hold about you and receive a copy.
Correct personal data that is inaccurate or incomplete.
Erase personal data we no longer need or have no lawful basis to keep.
Restrict how we use your data, for example while a correction is being checked.
Data portability: receive data you gave us in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
Object to processing based on our legitimate interests, and to direct marketing at any time.
Not be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, that has legal or similarly significant effects on you.
Withdraw your consent at any time, where we rely on consent. This does not affect anything we did before you withdrew it.

To use any of these rights, contact us through our contact form and choose "My personal data or account". We may need to confirm your identity before we act. We will respond without undue delay and within any time limit set by the Act. Using your rights is free.

15. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, please tell us through our contact form and choose "My personal data or account" first so we can try to put it right. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information and Data Protection Commission of Botswana.

16. Changes to this policy

We will update this policy when our practices or the law change, and post the new version here with its date. Last updated: 13 October 2026.

17. Terms of use

Opportunities are shared for information. Always confirm eligibility, deadlines and costs on the official source before applying.
PutYouthOn does not submit applications for members and does not influence selection decisions.
A match on your dashboard is a suggestion, not confirmation that you are eligible.
Do not submit false or misleading information, or content you do not have permission to share.
For paid programmes or delegations, separate written terms, pricing and a cancellation and refund policy will apply and be shared before any payment.
We may update these terms and will post changes on this page.