Privacy Policy
Last updated: March 2026
The Women in African Investments group (“WAI Group”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) is a professional network of women investment professionals focused on investing in Africa. WAI Group is hosted by LELAPA S.A.S.U., a company registered in France (SIREN: 810366559) with its registered office at 45 Rue Custine, Paris 18, 75018, France. LELAPA S.A.S.U. is the data controller for all personal data collected through the WAI Group website (https://waigroup.co), membership applications, and communications, including WhatsApp.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and share your personal data when you interact with WAI Group through our website, membership platform, events, WhatsApp groups, or any other channel.
1. Information We Collect
We may collect the following categories of personal data:
Membership and application data: your name, email address, phone number, country of residence, job title, organisation name, professional background, areas of expertise, and any other information you provide in your membership application or profile.
Payment data: information related to your annual membership fee payments, processed through our third-party payment providers. We do not store your full payment card details.
Information collected through messaging platforms: when you communicate with us or participate in WAI Group WhatsApp groups, we may collect your phone number, message content, and any files or media you share.
Event data: information you provide when registering for or attending WAI Group events, meet-ups, or conferences, including your name, contact details, and dietary or accessibility requirements.
Information collected automatically: when you visit our website, we may collect your IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, and referring URLs through cookies and similar technologies.
2. How We Use Your Information
We use your personal data for the following purposes: to process and manage your WAI Group membership, including verification of eligibility; to facilitate networking, knowledge-sharing, and community engagement among members; to communicate with you about WAI Group activities, events, and updates through email, WhatsApp, or other channels you have opted into; to manage event registrations and logistics; to process membership fee payments; to maintain and improve our website and member platform; to compile anonymised and aggregated data about our membership for reporting purposes; and to comply with legal obligations and protect our legitimate interests.
3. WhatsApp Messaging
WhatsApp is a core communication platform for the WAI Group community. We use the WhatsApp Business Platform to manage group communications, share updates, and facilitate member interactions. By joining the WAI Group and providing your phone number, you consent to being added to relevant WhatsApp groups and receiving communications through this channel.
Opt-in: We will only add you to WhatsApp groups or send you WhatsApp messages if you have explicitly opted in as part of your membership application, or by initiating a conversation with us on WhatsApp.
Opt-out: You may opt out of receiving WhatsApp messages from us at any time by replying “STOP” to any message we send, by leaving a WhatsApp group, or by contacting us at elizabeth@lelapa.co. We will process your opt-out request promptly. Please note that opting out of WhatsApp communications may affect your ability to participate fully in WAI Group activities, as WhatsApp is a primary channel for member engagement.
Message data: Messages sent through the WhatsApp Business Platform are processed by Meta Platforms, Inc. in accordance with their own privacy policy. We encourage you to review WhatsApp’s privacy policy at https://www.whatsapp.com/legal/privacy-policy.
4. Member Directory and Profile Visibility
As a WAI Group member, certain information from your profile (such as your name, job title, organisation, country of residence, and areas of expertise) may be visible to other members through the member directory on our website. This visibility supports the networking and knowledge-sharing objectives of the group. If you wish to limit the visibility of your profile, please contact us at elizabeth@lelapa.co.
5. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)
Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we process your personal data based on one or more of the following legal grounds:
Consent: where you have given us clear consent to process your personal data for a specific purpose, such as receiving WhatsApp messages or marketing communications.
Contract: where processing is necessary for the performance of a contract with you, such as managing your WAI Group membership and processing membership fees.
Legitimate interest: where processing is necessary for our legitimate business interests, such as facilitating networking among members and improving our services, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.
Legal obligation: where processing is necessary to comply with applicable laws and regulations.
6. Data Sharing
We do not sell your personal data to third parties. We may share your information with trusted service providers who assist us in operating the WAI Group platform and services, including hosting providers, messaging platforms (such as WhatsApp/Meta), payment processors, event management platforms, and analytics services. These providers are bound by contractual obligations to protect your data and use it only for the purposes we specify.
We may also disclose your information if required by law or in response to a valid legal request from a public authority.
7. Data Retention
We retain your personal data for as long as your WAI Group membership is active, and for a reasonable period thereafter to fulfil any outstanding obligations, resolve disputes, or comply with legal requirements. If you cancel your membership, we will retain your basic contact information for a period of 12 months to process any follow-up matters, after which it will be securely deleted or anonymised unless a longer retention period is required by law.
8. Your Rights
Under the GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:
Right of access: you may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification: you may request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure: you may request that we delete your personal data, subject to certain legal exceptions.
Right to restrict processing: you may request that we limit the processing of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to data portability: you may request a copy of your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
Right to object: you may object to the processing of your data for direct marketing purposes or on grounds relating to your particular situation.
Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at elizabeth@lelapa.co. We will respond to your request within 30 days.
9. Cookies
Our website uses cookies to improve your browsing experience, manage your login session, and analyse website traffic. You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect the functionality of certain parts of our website, including the member login area.
10. Data Security
We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
11. International Data Transfers
Given the international nature of the WAI Group membership, your personal data may be transferred to and processed in countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA), including countries in Africa where our members are based. Where such transfers occur, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data, including standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission where applicable.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable laws. We will post the updated policy on this page with a revised “Last updated” date. Where changes are significant, we may notify members directly via email or WhatsApp.
13. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your data protection rights, please contact us:
Women in African Investments (WAI Group)
Hosted by LELAPA S.A.S.U.
45 Rue Custine
Paris 18, 75018
France
Email: elizabeth@lelapa.co
Phone: +33 6 77 69 43 07
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the French data protection authority (CNIL) at www.cnil.fr if you believe your data protection rights have been violated.