Privacy Policy

1. About this policy

This policy explains how BridgeSource Africa (“BridgeSource Africa”, “we”, “us” or “our”) handles personal information when you visit this platform or send us a sourcing enquiry. It applies to this BridgeSource Africa platform and the services described on it.

2. Information we collect

When you submit an enquiry, we may collect your name, email address, telephone or WhatsApp number, country of destination, business name (where relevant), product or category of interest, requested quantity, product specifications, additional requirements and any reference link you provide. We also receive basic technical information needed to operate, secure and troubleshoot the platform, such as request timestamps and security or rate-limiting information.

The current enquiry form accepts a link to a reference file; it does not provide a file-upload facility.

3. How we use information

We use enquiry information to review your requirements, research potential suppliers, prepare and discuss quotations, respond to questions, manage sourcing requests and maintain appropriate business records. We may also use technical information to protect the platform against spam, abuse and unauthorised access, and to diagnose service problems.

4. Email communications and Google services

We may use the Google Gmail API with our business email account to send enquiry acknowledgements, service updates, quotations and other messages relating to your request. This integration is intended for sending business communications. It is not used by this platform to read, search or manage your Gmail inbox. We do not use Gmail API data to serve advertising or sell personal information.

Email delivery may involve Google and its infrastructure. We limit access to the credentials needed for this function and protect them using server-side secrets. We do not ask customers to connect their own Gmail accounts to submit an enquiry.

5. Sharing and service providers

We do not sell personal information. We may share information with service providers that help us host, secure and operate the platform or deliver communications, including Cloudflare and Google, and with suppliers or logistics partners only when sharing is reasonably necessary to assess or fulfil a sourcing request. We may also disclose information where required by law or where necessary to protect our rights, users or services.

6. International processing

Because our services involve sourcing across borders and use infrastructure providers that may process information in different countries, your information may be processed outside the country where you live. Where required, we take steps intended to ensure that such processing is subject to appropriate safeguards.

7. Retention and security

We retain enquiry and related business records for as long as reasonably necessary to respond to you, manage the sourcing relationship, maintain business records, resolve disputes and meet legal obligations. Retention periods may vary depending on the nature of the request. We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect information, but no internet transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

8. Your choices and rights

Depending on the laws that apply to you, you may have rights to request access to, correction or deletion of personal information, or to object to or restrict certain processing. To make a request or ask a privacy question, contact us at bridgesourceafrica@gmail.com. We may need to verify your identity and may retain information where the law permits or requires us to do so.

9. Children

This platform is intended for people acting in a personal or business capacity who can make sourcing enquiries. It is not designed to collect personal information from children, and we do not knowingly seek to do so.

10. Changes and contact

We may update this policy when our services or legal requirements change. The latest version will be published on this page with its updated date. For questions about this policy or our handling of information, email bridgesourceafrica@gmail.com.