Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Makola ("we", "us", "our") collects, uses, and protects personal information when you use our platform, websites, and services. By using Makola you agree to the practices described here.

We take privacy seriously and are committed to handling your information with care, transparency, and respect for your rights. This policy applies to merchants, customers, and visitors to our platform.

Makola operates a multi-tenant commerce platform that enables merchants in Ghana and Nigeria to sell online. Each merchant runs their own independent store and acts as the controller of their customers' data; Makola processes data on the merchant's behalf as the platform operator.

Merchants are responsible for their own privacy notices to their customers and for complying with applicable data protection law in their jurisdiction. Makola provides the technical infrastructure and tooling.

We collect information you provide directly, information generated through your use of the platform, and certain technical data. This includes:

• Account details: name, email address, phone number, business name
• Store configuration: domain, branding, product catalogue, pricing
• Order and transaction metadata: order IDs, amounts, delivery addresses, fulfilment status
• Device and usage data: browser type, IP address, pages visited, time on page
• Cookies and similar technologies — see our Cookie Policy for details

We do not collect sensitive personal data such as national ID numbers, biometric data, or health information unless you provide it voluntarily.

We use the information we collect to operate and improve the Makola platform, process transactions, send order and account notifications (via email, SMS, and WhatsApp), provide customer support, detect and prevent fraud, and comply with legal obligations.

We may use aggregated, anonymised data to understand how merchants and customers use the platform and to improve our products. We will not sell your personal information to third parties.

Payments on the Makola platform are processed by third-party payment providers including Paystack, Hubtel, and mobile-money operators (MTN MoMo, Vodafone Cash, AirtelTigo). Payment data — including card details and mobile-money account numbers — is transmitted directly to and stored by these providers under their own security standards and privacy policies.

Makola does not store full card numbers, CVV codes, or mobile-money PINs on our servers at any time. We receive only the transaction reference, amount, status, and the masked identifier needed to display order history.

We share your information only as necessary to operate the platform: with payment providers to process transactions, with SMS and WhatsApp gateway partners to deliver notifications, and with cloud infrastructure providers (hosting, storage, CDN) that process data on our behalf under data processing agreements.

We may disclose information where required by law or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Makola, our merchants, customers, or the public. We will notify you of any such disclosure where permitted by law.

We retain your account and transaction data for as long as your account is active and for a further period required by applicable law, tax regulations, or legitimate business purposes — typically seven years for financial records. Usage logs and analytics data are retained for up to twenty-four months.

If you close your account, we will delete or anonymise your personal data within ninety days, except where retention is required by law.

We implement industry-standard technical and organisational measures to protect your data, including encryption in transit (TLS) and at rest, access controls, and regular security reviews. Our team follows least-privilege principles and all access to production data is logged and audited.

No system is completely secure. If you discover a security vulnerability, please report it to support@emakola.com and we will respond promptly.

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• Delete your data (right to erasure), subject to legal retention requirements
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Portability — receive your data in a machine-readable format
• Withdraw consent at any time where processing is consent-based

To exercise any of these rights, email us at support@emakola.com. We will respond within thirty days.

Makola is not directed at children under the age of 18 and we do not knowingly collect personal data from minors. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

Makola operates from Ghana and our primary infrastructure is hosted within the European Economic Area (EEA) or equivalent jurisdictions with adequate data protection laws. Where we transfer data internationally, we apply appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses or equivalent mechanisms.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, notify you by email or in-platform notification.

Continued use of the platform after the effective date of a revised policy constitutes your acceptance of the changes.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, please contact our privacy team at support@emakola.com .

We are committed to working with you to resolve any concerns. If you are unsatisfied with our response, you may have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.