This Privacy Policy describes how The Meerge Africa Technologies Limited ("Meerge Africa", "we", "our", or "us") collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data belonging to chefs, restaurant owners, food entrepreneurs, partners, employees, and all users ("you", "your") who access or use our SaaS platform, website, mobile interface, and related products or services.
This Policy complies with the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 (NDPA 2023), NDPC guidelines, and all applicable data protection regulations across jurisdictions in which we operate.
If you do not agree to this Policy, please discontinue use of our Services.
1. DATA CONTROLLER INFORMATION
Meerge Africa Technologies Limited
Address: ITF (Industrial Training Fund) Building, Funsho Williams Avenue, Lagos, 4th Floor, Lagos, Lagos, NG
Email: privacy@meergeafrica.com
Phone: [Insert Phone]
Data Protection Officer (DPO): dpo@meergeafrica.com
As Data Controller, we determine the purposes and means of processing your personal data.
2. DATA WE COLLECT
We collect the following categories of data when you access or use Meerge Africa:
A. Identity & Profile Data
- Full name
- Business name
- Username
- Gender (optional)
- Date of birth (optional)
- Profile photo
- Role (Chef / Restaurant Owner / Partner / Staff)
B. Contact Data
- Email address
- Phone number
- Business address
- Social media handles (optional)
C. Authentication Data
- Encrypted passwords
- Login timestamps
- Device and browser identifiers
- Multi-factor authentication tokens (if enabled)
D. Business & Operational Data
This includes all information related to the chef/restaurant business:
- Recipes & ingredients
- Inventory and stock data
- Storage and shelf-life information
- Kitchen operations data
- Pricing & cost breakdown
- Menu items & categories
- Staff lists and roles
- Order details and fulfillment activity
- Food supplier interactions
- Logistics and delivery information
- Customer reviews and ratings
E. Financial Data
- Bank account details
- Payout information
- Wallet/balance data
- Billing information
- Transaction history
- Revenue, expenses, and profit analytics
Note: We do NOT store full debit/credit card numbers. Payments are processed through NDPC-compliant PCI-DSS certified vendors.
F. Customer Data (on behalf of restaurants)
- Customer name
- Phone number
- Email (optional)
- Order history
- Location if delivery is required
Meerge Africa acts as a Data Processor for customer data provided by restaurants.
G. AI Data Inputs
To provide AI insights, we process:
- Recipe text
- Nutritional inputs
- Image uploads (optional)
- Inventory quantities
- Historical order performance
- Kitchen workflows
Our AI never sells or trains proprietary models using identifiable user data.
H. Technical & Usage Data
Automatically collected:
- IP address
- Device type
- Browser version
- Cookies & session tokens
- Page interactions
- Feature usage
- Error logs
I. Marketing & Communication Data
- Preferences
- Feedback and reviews
- Support tickets
- Email, chat, and in-app communication records
3. HOW WE USE YOUR DATA
Meerge Africa processes your data for the following lawful purposes under NDPA:
A. To Provide and Improve Our Services
- Account creation & authentication
- Dashboard personalization
- Recipe and cost analysis
- Inventory and shelf-life prediction
- Order management
- Payout processing
- Kitchen operations tracking
- Marketing automation tools
- CRM functionality
- Logistics and delivery coordination
Legal basis: Performance of Contract
B. To Provide AI-Powered Insights
- Nutritional predictions
- Shelf-life calculations
- Menu pricing recommendations
- Revenue forecasting
- Inventory depletion alerts
- Cost optimization guidance
Legal basis: Legitimate Interest + Consent where required
C. To Communicate With You
- Support and help center
- Transaction notifications
- System updates
- Marketing messages (if opted-in)
Legal basis: Legitimate Interest / Consent
D. For Compliance & Security
- Fraud prevention
- Monitoring unauthorized activity
- NDPC reporting requirements
- Regulatory compliance
- Financial audits
Legal basis: Legal Obligation
4. LEGAL BASIS FOR PROCESSING UNDER NDPA
We process your data under the following NDPA grounds:
- Consent (when you register or enable optional features)
- Performance of contract (providing our platform)
- Legitimate interest (ensuring platform functionality & safety)
- Legal obligation (regulatory compliance)
5. HOW WE SHARE YOUR DATA
We may share your data with the following categories:
A. Authorized Users in Your Organization
- Restaurant staff
- Admins
- Account managers
B. Third-Party Service Providers
All are NDPC-compliant:
- Payment processors
- Cloud hosting providers (AWS/Vercel)
- Email & SMS gateways
- Logistics partners
- Analytics tools
- CRM integrations
We never sell personal data.
C. Regulators & Authorities
Only where required by law.
6. DATA STORAGE & SECURITY MEASURES
We employ industry-grade security:
- AES-256 encryption at rest
- TLS 1.3 encryption in transit
- Role-based access control (RBAC)
- Multi-factor authentication
- Periodic vulnerability assessments
- Logging and monitoring
Data is stored on secure servers in NDPC-approved jurisdictions.
7. INTERNATIONAL DATA TRANSFERS
Where data leaves Nigeria, transfers follow:
- NDPC Adequacy Decisions
- Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs)
- Secure transfer mechanisms
8. DATA RETENTION
We retain data for:
- As long as your account remains active
- Up to 6 years for financial compliance
- 24 months for inactive accounts (then archived or anonymized)
You may request deletion at any time.
9. YOUR RIGHTS UNDER NDPA 2023
You have the right to:
- Access your data
- Correct inaccurate data
- Delete your data
- Restrict processing
- Object to processing
- Withdraw consent
- Port your data to another provider
- Lodge complaints with NDPC
Requests are handled within 7 working days.
Contact: dpo@meergeafrica.com
10. CHILDREN'S PRIVACY
Meerge Africa does not target or knowingly collect data from individuals under 18.
11. COOKIES & TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES
We use cookies for:
- Authentication
- User experience
- Analytics
- Marketing (optional consent)
You may adjust cookie settings anytime.
12. AI PRIVACY DISCLOSURE
Our AI:
- Does NOT sell or share data
- Does NOT use identifiable data for training external models
- Only processes your data to provide insights to your account
- Respects all NDPA data minimization principles
13. CHANGES TO THIS POLICY
We may update this Policy periodically. Updates will appear on our website and app. Continued use of our services indicates acceptance.
14. CONTACT INFORMATION
For privacy inquiries or NDPC rights requests: