POPIA & Information Regulator

grantZA is operated by SNEGO GROUP (Pty) Ltd. As a South African private company that handles personal information through our website and tools, we are registered with the Information Regulator of South Africa as required under the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA).

1. Registration Details

Our registration was issued by the Information Regulator on the date shown below. You can verify it independently on the Information Regulator's eServices Portal or by opening the certificate PDF.

2. What POPIA Registration Means

Under POPIA, any organisation in South Africa that processes personal information has to appoint an Information Officer and register that officer with the Information Regulator. The Information Officer is accountable for how personal information is collected, used, stored, and protected within the organisation.

For grantZA this means:

• A named, registered person (our Information Officer) is legally responsible for how we handle your information.
• We are obliged to follow the eight conditions for lawful processing set out in POPIA, including accountability, purpose limitation, security safeguards, and openness.
• If you believe we have handled your personal information incorrectly, you have a formal route to raise a complaint with us and, if unresolved, escalate it to the Information Regulator.

3. How We Handle Your Application and Status Check Information

grantZA is not SASSA. We do not operate a SASSA status check, we do not have access to SASSA systems, and we cannot look up any government grant on your behalf. The only application we process is our own grantZA Informal Trader Startup Grant.

3.1 Applying for the grantZA Informal Trader Startup Grant

When you complete the application form, we collect the information needed to verify your identity, assess your application, and pay a successful grant. This typically includes:

• Identity and contact details: full name, SA ID number, date of birth, cellphone number, and email (if provided).
• Address details: province, suburb or township, and street address.
• Business information: type of business, business description, and where you trade.
• Payment details: bank or mobile money provider, account or wallet number, and account holder name.
• Supporting documents: SA ID document, proof of address, and an optional photo of your business.

How this information is processed and stored:

• All fields and documents are submitted over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection.
• The application record and its uploaded documents are stored securely so we can review, verify, and (if approved) pay the grant. Access is restricted to authorised SNEGO GROUP staff involved in vetting and disbursement.
• We do not sell your information, we do not use it for marketing, and we do not share it with SASSA or any other government department.
• Records are retained only for as long as reasonably necessary to administer the grant, deal with any dispute, and meet our record-keeping obligations under South African law. After that, they are deleted or anonymised.

3.2 Checking the status of your grantZA application

Our status check tool is a lookup for your own grantZA application only. When you enter your SA ID and cellphone number:

• The values are sent over HTTPS to our lookup service for the single purpose of returning the current status of your grantZA Informal Trader Startup Grant application.
• We do not create a new persistent record from a status check. No user account or lookup history is stored against your identity.
• The status result is placed in your browser's session storage, which is cleared when you close the tab, so the result never leaves your device once returned.
• Standard, short-lived request logs (timestamp, IP address, user agent) may be generated by our hosting layer for security and abuse-prevention purposes only, and are not linked to your identity.

If you need to check a SASSA grant (such as SRD R370, Older Persons, Disability, Child Support, or Foster Care), you must use the official SASSA channels directly: srd.sassa.gov.za, USSD *120*69277#, WhatsApp 082 046 8553, or the SASSA toll-free line 0800 60 10 11.

4. Your Rights Under POPIA

As a data subject you have the right to:

• Be notified about what personal information we collect and why.
• Request access to any personal information we hold about you.
• Request correction or deletion of personal information that is inaccurate, out of date, or no longer needed.
• Object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator if you believe your rights have been infringed.

If you have applied for the grantZA Informal Trader Startup Grant, we will hold the application record described in section 3.1 and you can request access to, correction of, or deletion of that record (subject to any lawful retention obligations). If you have only used the status check tool, we will normally hold no persistent record linked to your identity. Requests can be sent to our Information Officer directly at [email protected], or using the contact route on our Contact page.

5. Contacting the Information Regulator

If you are not satisfied with how we have handled a POPIA matter, you may contact the Information Regulator directly:

• Website: inforegulator.org.za
• Address: Woodmead North Office Park, 54 Maxwell Drive, Woodmead, Johannesburg
• Postal: P.O. Box 31533, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2017
• eServices Portal: eservices.inforegulator.org.za

For everything else covered on this page, please also read our Privacy Policy and General Disclaimer.