Privacy policy

Who we are

Mali Yangu is a marketplace that connects customers in Uganda with independent financiers who sell assets on finance, such as motorcycles, tricycles, solar kits, phones and business equipment. We do not lend money ourselves. We verify who you are, assess how you are likely to repay, and send your application to the financier you choose.

This policy covers the Mali Yangu mobile app, this website and the Mali Yangu financier portal. You can reach us at contact@maliyanguapp.com. We handle your information in line with Uganda's Data Protection and Privacy Act, 2019.

What we collect

Your account

Your first and last name, phone number, and password (we keep only a scrambled form of it that we cannot read). If you sign in with Google, we receive your Google account's name, email address and a unique Google ID.

Your identity

Your National ID number, a photo of your ID, and a selfie. We use these to confirm that you are who you say you are, and to stop the same person or ID being used for more than one account.

Your credit and money information

With your consent, a credit report result from a licensed credit reference bureau (CRB). If you give them, your employment status and monthly income. Your mobile money number and payment records when you pay an assessment fee: amount, date, provider and reference. We do not see or keep your mobile money PIN or card details.

Your assessment

Your answers to the short questions about how you plan and manage money, and the Green, Amber or Red result and score for each financier you are assessed for.

Your applications

The asset, amount and repayment period you ask for, the financier's decisions and notes, and the messages you send and receive in the app.

Technical information

Records of sign-ins and important actions (for security), the type of phone and app version, and error logs. We do not use advertising trackers, and we do not collect your location.

Why we use it

• To create and protect your account, and to verify your identity.
• To run the credit check and the assessment, and to work out your result.
• To send your application, and the details a financier needs to decide on it, to the financier you chose.
• To take payments, send you messages about your application, and give you support.
• To prevent fraud and misuse, and to meet our legal duties.
• To understand how the service is used so that we can improve it. This uses totals and trends, not your personal details.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for advertising.

Who sees your information

• The financier you choose. Each financier sees only people who were assessed for it or applied to it. It can see your name, phone number, identity details and photos, your credit result, your assessment result and score, and your application. Other financiers do not see you.
• Mali Yangu staff, only as far as they need to review accounts, give support and keep the service safe.
• Companies that help us run the service, under contract and only for that purpose: our cloud hosting and database providers, an SMS provider that sends verification codes, an image storage provider for ID photos and selfies, a licensed credit reference bureau, the mobile money and card payment providers you choose to pay with, and Google if you use Google sign-in.
• The authorities, where the law requires it or to protect people from fraud or harm.

Once a financier receives your details, it holds its own copy and handles it under its own privacy practices and the law. Ask the financier directly about that copy.

Credit checks

We run a credit check only after you agree to it in the app. A credit check stays valid for 3 months, so we reuse it for that time instead of checking again. Checking your own credit through us does not harm your credit standing.

Sign in with Google

If you choose Continue with Google, we receive your name, email address and Google account ID from Google. We use them only to create and sign you in to your Mali Yangu account, and to show you which Google account is connected. We do not read your emails, contacts, files or any other Google data, and we do not share or sell this information.

Mali Yangu's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs follows the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. You can stop using Google sign-in by asking us to disconnect it, and you can remove our access in your Google account settings.

How long we keep it

We keep your information while your account is active. If you ask us to delete your account, we delete or anonymise your personal information within 30 days, except what we must keep by law or to prevent fraud, such as payment records. See how to delete your account.

How we protect it

Information is sent over encrypted connections. Passwords are stored in a scrambled form. Access to personal information is limited to people who need it, and important actions are logged. No system is completely secure, so please keep your password and your phone safe, and tell us right away if you think someone else has your account.

Your rights

You can ask to see the personal information we hold about you, correct it, delete it, or stop us using it in a particular way. You can also withdraw a consent you gave, such as for credit checks, though that may mean we can no longer assess you. Write to contact@maliyanguapp.com from the email or phone number linked to your account and we will reply within 30 days. If you are not satisfied, you may complain to Uganda's Personal Data Protection Office.

Children

Mali Yangu is for people aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy in a way that matters, we will tell you in the app or by message before the change takes effect. The date at the top shows when it was last updated.

Contact us

Questions about your privacy: contact@maliyanguapp.com.