Privacy Policy

• Who we are
• What we collect
• How we use it
• Who sees it
• Where it is stored
• How long we keep it
• Your rights
• Contact

Who we are

#MyLittleBigThing is a programme of MK-Africa, based at Nairobi Garage, Karen, Nairobi, Kenya. MK-Africa decides how and why your personal data is used on this website, so it is the data controller under Kenya's Data Protection Act, 2019. Our technology partner, Pinch Africa, builds and runs the website for us and handles data only on our instructions.

What we collect

When you create an account or apply to the Challenge

• Your name, email address, phone or WhatsApp number, date of birth, gender, country and institution or town.
• Your idea: its title, track, SDG, stage, registration status, essay, video pitch link and any pitch deck or photo you upload.
• Your co-founders' names and genders, if you apply as a team. Please let them know you are sharing these.
• How you heard about us, and the invite or campus ambassador code you used, if any.

While you use the site

• Your learning: lessons completed, quiz answers, workbook and reflection answers, notes you keep, certificates.
• Your community activity: Impact Points, badges, your community level, and whether you joined our WhatsApp channel.
• Questions you ask the AI study helper, where that feature is switched on.
• If you buy the optional verified certificate: your payment confirmation (for example the M-Pesa transaction code). We do not see or store card numbers or your M-Pesa PIN.
• Messages you send us through the contact form, email or WhatsApp.

Automatically

• Technical data such as your IP address, browser and device, and the pages you visit, kept in our server logs for security.
• Which campaign or link brought you to the site, so ambassadors and partners get credit.
• Cookies, as explained in our Cookie Policy.

How we use it, and why we are allowed to

• To run the Challenge: review applications, move you through the ten stages, run the courses, bootcamp and Demo Day, and send you updates about your application. We need your data to provide the programme you applied for.
• To keep in touch: email and WhatsApp updates about the Challenge and the Academy. You can unsubscribe or leave our WhatsApp channel at any time.
• To feature innovators: when you apply you agree that #MyLittleBigThing may feature your innovation and likeness in promotional material. We always ask before publishing a full story about you, and you can withdraw that agreement.
• To report impact: we share combined numbers (for example how many applications came from each country, or the share of women founders) with our partners and funders. These reports do not name individuals.
• To improve the site and our outreach: analytics and advertising, only with your consent through the cookie banner.
• To keep the site safe and meet the law: preventing fraud and abuse, and keeping records the law requires.

We never sell your personal data.

Who sees your data

• The MK-Africa team who run #MyLittleBigThing.
• Evaluators, judges and mentors for the stages you reach, including Strathmore University and MLBT evaluators. They see what they need to review your application.
• Service providers who help us run the site, under contracts that require them to protect your data: Pinch Africa (development and hosting), Google (the Gemini AI study helper, and Google Analytics if you accept analytics cookies), and email and payment services when you use them.
• Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) and TikTok: only if you accept advertising cookies, and then only to measure our ads; we do not send them your name, email or phone number. WhatsApp's own privacy policy applies inside WhatsApp.
• Authorities, if the law requires us to.

Where your data is stored

The website and its database are hosted on secure servers in Germany, in the European Union, which has strong data protection laws. Some of our service providers, such as Google, may process data in other countries. Where data leaves Kenya, we make sure it is protected as the Data Protection Act requires.

How long we keep it

• Your account stays until you ask us to close it.
• Application records are kept for five years after the end of the Challenge cycle you applied to, so we can report to partners and recognise alumni, and are then deleted or anonymised.
• Server logs are kept for up to twelve months.
• If you ask us to delete your data, we will, unless the law requires us to keep something.

Your rights

Under the Data Protection Act, 2019 you have the right to:

• be told how your data is used (this page);
• see the personal data we hold about you and get a copy of it;
• have wrong or incomplete data corrected;
• have your data deleted;
• object to, or ask us to limit, how we use it, including for marketing;
• withdraw your consent at any time, for example by changing your cookie settings;
• receive your data in a portable format.

Email info@mylittlebigthing.com and we will reply within 7 days. If you are not happy with our answer, you can complain to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner.

Age

The Challenge is for innovators aged 18 to 35. We do not knowingly collect data from children.

Security

We use encrypted connections (HTTPS), hashed passwords, access limited to the people who need it, and regular backups. No system is perfect: if we ever have a breach that puts you at risk, we will tell you and the Data Protection Commissioner as the law requires.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy in an important way we will tell you on the site or by email. The date at the top shows the latest version.

Contact us

MK-Africa · #MyLittleBigThing
Nairobi Garage, Karen, Nairobi, Kenya
Email: info@mylittlebigthing.com
Phone and WhatsApp: +254 794 711 936