1. WHO WE ARE
The Onyx Co (Pty) Ltd ("The Onyx Co", "we", "us", "our") is a Pan-African venture firm registered in South Africa under company number 2022/236135/07, with its registered office at 122 Willow Avenue, Atholl, Johannesburg, Gauteng, 2196.
2. INFORMATION OFFICER
The Information Officer for The Onyx Co (Pty) Ltd is Sibusiso Shangase, who is responsible for ensuring compliance with POPIA and handling all data subject requests. You can contact the Information Officer at sibusiso@theonyxco.co.za.
3. WHAT INFORMATION WE COLLECT
We collect personal information that you provide directly when you:
- Submit a funding application via our apply page — including your name, email, company name, website, pillar, stage, capital amount, pitch, business details, and any links you provide
- Contact us via the contact page — including your name, email, company, topic, and message
- Subscribe to our newsletter — your email address
- Communicate with us directly via email or other channels — any information you choose to share
4. LAWFUL BASIS & PURPOSE
We process your personal information only when we have a lawful basis under POPIA, namely:
- Consent — when you submit a form, subscribe, or otherwise voluntarily provide information
- Performance of a contract — when we are in active investment, advisory, or other contractual relationship
- Legitimate interest — for the operation, security, and improvement of our business, where this does not override your rights
- Compliance with law — where required by South African law, including tax, regulatory, and anti-money-laundering obligations
We use your information to evaluate funding applications, respond to enquiries, send the Signal newsletter, communicate about our portfolio and approach, and comply with legal obligations. We do not sell your information.
5. WHO WE SHARE INFORMATION WITH
We share personal information only where strictly necessary:
- Service providers — Formspree (form handling), our newsletter platform, and our cloud hosting partner, all bound by their own privacy obligations
- Professional advisers — lawyers, accountants, auditors as required for our business and regulatory compliance
- Regulators & authorities — where compelled by law, court order, or regulatory request
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information.
6. CROSS-BORDER TRANSFERS
Some of our service providers (e.g. Formspree, cloud hosting) may process data outside South Africa. Where this happens, we ensure those providers offer adequate data protection consistent with POPIA.
7. RETENTION
We retain personal information only as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, or as required by law. Specifically:
- Funding applications: retained for up to 36 months from submission, then anonymised or deleted
- Contact form submissions: retained for up to 24 months from submission, then deleted
- Newsletter subscriptions: retained until you unsubscribe
- Portfolio-company records: retained for the life of the investment plus 7 years for tax and audit purposes
8. YOUR RIGHTS UNDER POPIA
You have the right to:
- Access — request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
- Correction — request that we correct inaccurate or outdated information
- Deletion — request that we delete your information, subject to our legal obligations
- Object — object to processing on the grounds of legitimate interest or direct marketing
- Withdraw consent — withdraw consent at any time, where consent was the basis of processing
- Lodge a complaint — with the Information Regulator of South Africa
To exercise any of these rights, contact our Information Officer at sibusiso@theonyxco.co.za. We will respond within 30 days.
9. SECURITY
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to safeguard your personal information against loss, unauthorised access, and disclosure. This includes encrypted transmission, access controls, and vetted third-party processors. No method of transmission over the internet is fully secure, but we work to minimise risk.
10. COOKIES
This website uses only essential functional cookies — no advertising, no third-party tracking, and no analytics that personally identify you. Any future change will be reflected here and signalled clearly.
11. CHILDREN
Our services are not directed to persons under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
12. CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE
We may update this notice from time to time. The "last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent change. Material changes will be signalled prominently.
13. CONTACT & COMPLAINTS
For any privacy-related matter, contact the Information Officer:
Sibusiso Shangase · Information Officer
The Onyx Co (Pty) Ltd
sibusiso@theonyxco.co.za
122 Willow Avenue, Atholl, Johannesburg, Gauteng, 2196
If you are not satisfied with our response, you can lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator:
The Information Regulator (South Africa)
JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001
inforegulator.org.za
complaints.IR@justice.gov.za