Privacy Policy

Catalyst Futureworks (CFW) Engineering Tomorrow. Empowering Today.

Last Updated: July 26, 2026

1. Introduction

Catalyst Futureworks (“CFW,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of everyone who interacts with our website, training programs, internship listings, mentorship program, career services, events, and member dashboard (collectively, the “Services”). Our website address is: https://catalystfutureworks.org

This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and protect it, and what rights you have regarding your data. By using our website or Services, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy.

This policy is designed to comply with Uganda’s Data Protection and Privacy Act, 2019, and, where applicable to users outside Uganda, principles consistent with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

2. Information We Collect

We collect the following types of information depending on how you interact with our Services:

2.1 Information You Provide Directly

  • Contact details: name, email address, phone number, WhatsApp number, physical/mailing address
  • Account/profile information: username, password (encrypted), profile photo, bio
  • Application materials: CVs/resumes, cover letters, academic transcripts, certificates, portfolio links
  • Program-related information: course enrollments, assignment submissions, quiz/assessment results, certificates earned, mentorship session notes, progress records
  • Payment information (where applicable): billing name and address; card/payment details are processed by our third-party payment processor and are not stored directly on our servers
  • Communications: messages you send us via contact forms, email, WhatsApp, or during events/webinars
  • Volunteer, trainer, and partnership applications: organizational details, areas of expertise, references

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

  • Usage data: pages visited, time spent on the site, links clicked, device type, browser type, operating system
  • Log data: IP address, access timestamps, referring URLs
  • Cookies and similar technologies (see Section 8)

2.3 Information from Third Parties

  • Information from partner organizations, universities, or employers when they refer you to our programs
  • Information from social media platforms if you interact with us through those channels (e.g., LinkedIn, Facebook)

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the personal information we collect to:

  • Process and manage your applications for training programs, internships, mentorship, volunteering, or trainer roles
  • Create and manage your Member Dashboard account, including tracking course progress, assignments, and certificates
  • Facilitate mentorship matching and career services (CV reviews, interview preparation, coaching sessions)
  • Communicate with you about programs, events, opportunities, and updates you’ve opted in to receive
  • Process event registrations and bookings
  • Respond to inquiries submitted through our contact forms
  • Improve our website, programs, and services through analytics
  • Maintain the security and integrity of our platform
  • Comply with legal obligations and enforce our terms of service

We do not use your personal information for automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal data on the following legal bases:

  • Consent: where you have given clear consent (e.g., opting in to receive messages, submitting a form)
  • Contractual necessity: to deliver a program, service, or opportunity you’ve applied for or enrolled in
  • Legitimate interest: to improve our Services, maintain security, and communicate relevant opportunities to program participants
  • Legal obligation: where processing is required to comply with applicable law

You may withdraw consent at any time where consent is the basis for processing, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

5. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share your information only in the following circumstances:

  • Partner organizations: with universities, companies, NGOs, government institutions, or development partners directly involved in delivering a program you’ve applied for (e.g., an internship host organization)
  • Mentors and trainers: with assigned mentors or trainers strictly for the purpose of delivering mentorship or training services
  • Service providers: with trusted third-party vendors who support our operations (e.g., hosting providers, payment processors, email/SMS delivery services, learning management system providers), bound by confidentiality obligations
  • Legal requirements: where required by law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request
  • Business transfers: in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, where your data may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to the same privacy protections

Any third party we share data with is contractually required to protect your information and use it only for the purpose for which it was shared.

6. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this policy, including:

  • For active program participants: for the duration of program enrollment plus a reasonable period afterward for record-keeping, alumni engagement, and certificate verification
  • For unsuccessful applicants: typically up to 12 months, unless you request earlier deletion
  • For legal or regulatory purposes: as long as required by applicable law

When data is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymize it.

7. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information, including:

  • Encrypted data transmission (SSL/TLS)
  • Secure, access-controlled member login and authentication
  • Regular security monitoring and malware protection
  • Restricted internal access to personal data on a need-to-know basis

While we take reasonable steps to protect your data, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to:

  • Remember your login session and preferences
  • Analyze site traffic and usage patterns to improve our Services
  • Enable certain website features (e.g., forms, booking widgets)

You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect the functionality of certain features, such as the Member Dashboard login.

9. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you have the right to:

  • Access the personal data we hold about you
  • Correct inaccurate or incomplete data
  • Request deletion of your personal data (“right to be forgotten”), subject to legal or contractual retention requirements
  • Object to or restrict certain processing of your data
  • Withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent
  • Data portability, where applicable
  • Opt out of marketing communications by using the unsubscribe link in emails or replying STOP to SMS/WhatsApp messages

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in Section 16.

10. Children’s Privacy

CFW’s programs are designed primarily for youth and young professionals. Where a program is open to participants under the age of 18, we will seek appropriate parental or guardian consent before collecting personal information, in line with applicable law. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children without such consent.

11. International Data Transfers

If you are accessing our Services from outside Uganda, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in Uganda or other countries where our service providers operate. Where such transfers occur, we take steps to ensure your data receives an adequate level of protection consistent with this policy.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. The updated version will be posted on this page with a revised July 26, 2026 date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

13. Comments

When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.

An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

14. Cookies

If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.

If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.

If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.

15. Embedded content from other websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

16. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us:

Catalyst Futureworks (CFW) Email: support@catalystfutureworks.org