AKASHA INNOVATION HUB

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PRIVACY POLICY
AKASHA Innovation Hub Limited
Effective Date: 18 February 2025
Last Updated: 18 February 2025
1. INTRODUCTION
AKASHA Innovation Hub Limited ("we", "us", "our", or "AKASHA") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you visit our website at www.akasha.ie ("Website") or use our services.
We are a company registered in Ireland with company number 654651 and our registered office is at 72 Francis Street, Dublin 8, Ireland. We are the data controller responsible for your personal data.
This Privacy Policy complies with:
The General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR)
The Data Protection Act 2018 (Ireland)
The ePrivacy Directive 2002/58/EC (as amended)
Electronic Privacy Regulations (S.I. No. 336 of 2011)
2. DATA PROTECTION OFFICER
We have appointed a Data Protection Officer (DPO) who is responsible for overseeing questions in relation to this Privacy Policy.
Contact Details:
Email: [email protected]
Postal Address: Data Protection Officer, AKASHA Innovation Hub Limited, 72 Francis Street, Dublin 8, Ireland
You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Data Protection Commission (DPC), the Irish supervisory authority for data protection issues (www.dataprotection.ie). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the DPC.
3. INFORMATION WE COLLECT
We may collect, use, store, and transfer different kinds of personal data about you:
3.1 Identity Data
First name, last name, title
Company/organisation name
Job title/role
3.2 Contact Data
Email address
Postal address
Telephone number
3.3 Technical Data
Internet Protocol (IP) address
Browser type and version
Time zone setting and location
Browser plug-in types and versions
Operating system and platform
Device information
3.4 Usage Data
Information about how you use our Website, products, and services
Pages visited, time spent on pages, page interaction information
Referral source (how you arrived at our Website)
3.5 Marketing and Communications Data
Your preferences in receiving marketing from us
Your communication preferences
Records of your correspondence with us
3.6 Service-Related Data
Information provided in enquiry forms or applications
Details of services you are interested in
Information relevant to incubation/acceleration applications
Consultancy service requirements
3.7 Special Categories of Data
We do not generally collect special categories of personal data (such as data concerning health, racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, trade union membership, genetic or biometric data, or data concerning sex life or sexual orientation). If we do process such data, we will obtain your explicit consent or process it only where necessary for employment law, social security, or with appropriate safeguards.
4. HOW WE COLLECT YOUR PERSONAL DATA
We use different methods to collect data from and about you:
4.1 Direct Interactions
You may provide data by:
Filling in forms on our Website (contact forms, application forms, consultancy enquiries)
Corresponding with us by post, phone, email, or otherwise
Subscribing to our newsletters or publications
Requesting marketing materials
Applying for our programmes or services
Attending our events or webinars
4.2 Automated Technologies
As you interact with our Website, we may automatically collect Technical Data about your equipment, browsing actions, and patterns using:
Cookies and similar technologies (see our Cookie Policy)
Server logs
Web beacons
Analytics tools (Google Analytics)
4.3 Third Parties
We may receive personal data about you from:
Analytics providers such as Google
Search information providers
Publicly available sources (e.g., Companies House, LinkedIn)
Business partners and subcontractors
Referral partners who recommend our services
5. LEGAL BASIS FOR PROCESSING
Under GDPR, we must have a legal basis to process your personal data. The legal bases we rely on are:
Table
Copy
Purpose Legal Basis
Responding to your enquiries Performance of a contract or pre-contractual steps at your request
Providing consultancy services Performance of a contract
Processing applications for programmes Performance of a contract or legitimate interests
Website operation and security Legitimate interests (network and information security)
Marketing communications Consent or legitimate interests (B2B marketing)
Analytics and improvements Consent or legitimate interests
Legal compliance Legal obligation
Establishing/defending legal claims Legitimate interests
6. HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL DATA
We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:
6.1 Service Provision
To respond to your enquiries and provide information about our services
To process applications for our incubation, acceleration, or consultancy programmes
To deliver consultancy services you have requested
To manage our relationship with you, including notifying you about changes to our terms or privacy policy
6.2 Website and Technical
To administer and protect our business and Website (including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, system maintenance, support, reporting, and hosting of data)
To deliver relevant Website content and advertisements to you and measure or understand the effectiveness of the advertising we serve to you
To use data analytics to improve our Website, products/services, marketing, customer relationships, and experiences
6.3 Marketing and Communications
To make suggestions and recommendations to you about goods or services that may be of interest to you
To send you newsletters, event invitations, and updates about the blockchain/DLT ecosystem
To conduct market research and analysis
6.4 Legal and Compliance
To comply with legal obligations (e.g., tax, accounting, or regulatory requirements)
To establish, exercise, or defend our legal rights
7. DATA RETENTION
We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.
To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider:
The amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data
The potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure
The purposes for which we process the data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means
The applicable legal requirements
Typical Retention Periods:
Enquiry data: 2 years from last interaction
Programme applicants: 3 years from application date
Client/consultancy data: 7 years (to comply with Irish tax/accounting laws)
Marketing consent records: Until consent is withdrawn, then 2 years
Website analytics: 26 months (Google Analytics default)
8. DATA SECURITY
We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used, or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered, or disclosed. These measures include:
Encryption of data in transit (TLS/SSL)
Password protection and access controls
Regular security assessments
Staff training on data protection
Physical security measures at our premises
We limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors, and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.
We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.
9. DATA SHARING AND THIRD PARTIES
We may share your personal data with the following categories of recipients:
9.1 Service Providers
IT and system administration services (e.g., hosting providers, Carrd)
Professional advisers (lawyers, bankers, auditors, insurers)
Analytics and search engine providers (e.g., Google Analytics)
Email marketing services (e.g., Mailchimp, if applicable)
9.2 AKASHA Ecosystem Partners
Other AKASHA hubs worldwide (for networking and referral purposes)
Partner organisations delivering joint programmes
Mentors and advisors participating in our programmes (limited information only)
9.3 Legal and Regulatory
Regulatory authorities (e.g., Data Protection Commission)
Law enforcement agencies (where required by law)
Courts and legal advisors (to establish, exercise, or defend legal rights)
9.4 Business Transfers
If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your personal data may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you via email and/or prominent notice on our Website of any change in ownership or uses of your personal data.
We do not sell your personal data to third parties.
10. INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS
Some of our external third parties are based outside the European Economic Area (EEA), so their processing of your personal data will involve a transfer of data outside the EEA.
Whenever we transfer your personal data out of the EEA, we ensure a similar degree of protection is afforded to it by ensuring at least one of the following safeguards is implemented:
We will only transfer your personal data to countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data by the European Commission.
Where we use certain service providers, we may use specific contracts approved by the European Commission which give personal data the same protection it has in Europe (Standard Contractual Clauses).
Where we use providers based in the US, we may transfer data to them if they are part of the EU-US Data Privacy Framework or if we have Standard Contractual Clauses in place.
Please contact us if you want further information on the specific mechanism used by us when transferring your personal data out of the EEA.
11. YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS
Under data protection laws, you have rights in relation to your personal data. These include the right to:
11.1 Right to Access (Article 15 GDPR)
You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.
11.2 Right to Rectification (Article 16 GDPR)
You have the right to request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you.
11.3 Right to Erasure ("Right to be Forgotten") (Article 17 GDPR)
You have the right to request that we delete or remove personal data where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. This right is not absolute and may not apply where we have a legal obligation to retain data.
11.4 Right to Restriction of Processing (Article 18 GDPR)
You have the right to request that we suspend the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances, such as if you want us to establish its accuracy or the reason for processing it.
11.5 Right to Data Portability (Article 20 GDPR)
You have the right to request the transfer of your personal data to you or to a third party in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. This applies only to automated information you initially provided consent for us to use or where we used the information to perform a contract with you.
11.6 Right to Object (Article 21 GDPR)
You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data where we are relying on legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes.
11.7 Right to Withdraw Consent
Where we rely on consent to process your personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.
11.8 Right to Complain
You have the right to complain to the Data Protection Commission at any time. See Section 2 for contact details.
12. EXERCISING YOUR RIGHTS
To exercise any of your rights, please contact us using the details in Section 2. We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it.
We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it may take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.
13. COOKIES AND SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES
Our Website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to distinguish you from other users. This helps us provide you with a good experience when you browse our Website and also allows us to improve our site.
For detailed information on the cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them, please see our Cookie Policy below.
14. THIRD-PARTY LINKS
Our Website may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins, and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave our Website, we encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.
15. CHILDREN'S PRIVACY
Our Website and services are not intended for children under 16 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16. If you are under 16, please do not provide any information on this Website. If we learn we have collected or received personal data from a child under 16 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information.
16. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes we make will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, notified to you by email. Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes. The date at the top of this page indicates when it was last updated.
17. CONTACT US
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:
AKASHA Innovation Hub Limited
72 Francis Street, Dublin 8
Dublin, Ireland
Email: [email protected]