Who we are
Privacy Policy Coastal Solar Africa Last updated: February 26, 2026
Coastal Solar Africa (“we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that your personal data is processed in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner in accordance with the Kenya Data Protection Act, 2019, the Data Protection (General) Regulations, 2021, and other applicable laws.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, store, and protect your personal data when you:
- Visit our website (coastalsolar.africa)
- Contact us via phone, email, WhatsApp, or forms
- Request quotes, place orders, or purchase solar products/services (e.g., panels, inverters, batteries, pumps, hybrid systems)
- Subscribe to newsletters or updates
By using our website or services, you consent to the practices described in this policy. If you do not agree, please do not provide us with your personal data.
1. Who We Are (Data Controller)
Coastal Solar Africa Physical address: [Insert your exact business address in Kilifi/Mombasa region] Email: info@coastalsolar.africa Phone: +254 716 842 775
We act as the data controller for the personal data we collect. If we appoint a Data Protection Officer (DPO), their contact details will be updated here.
2. Personal Data We Collect
We collect only the data necessary for providing our solar energy solutions and related services. Categories include:
- Contact and identification data: Full name, phone number, email address, physical address (e.g., for delivery/installation in Mombasa, Kilifi, Malindi, Diani, Watamu, Lamu, etc.), national ID/passport (where required for contracts or financing).
- Transaction/commercial data: Details of products/services requested or purchased (e.g., solar system size, battery type), payment details (processed securely via third-party providers—we do not store full card info), quotes, invoices, order history.
- Technical/usage data: IP address, browser type, device info, pages visited, time/date of access (via cookies/analytics tools).
- Communication data: Messages, call logs, WhatsApp chats, emails, or form submissions.
- Other: Location data (approximate, for service area), photos of installation sites (with consent), any data you voluntarily provide.
We do not collect sensitive personal data (e.g., health, ethnic origin, biometric unless strictly necessary and with explicit consent).
3. How We Collect Your Data
- Directly from you (via website forms, calls, emails, WhatsApp, in-person visits, contracts).
- Automatically (cookies, server logs—see Cookies section below).
- From third parties (e.g., payment processors, delivery partners, only where relevant and lawful).
4. Purposes and Lawful Basis for Processing
We process your personal data for the following purposes:
- To respond to inquiries, provide quotes, process orders, deliver/install products, offer after-sales support (contract performance / legitimate interests).
- To communicate about your orders, promotions, or solar/energy updates (consent or legitimate interests).
- To comply with legal obligations (e.g., tax, consumer protection laws).
- To improve our website/services (legitimate interests).
- To prevent fraud or secure our systems (legitimate interests).
We rely on:
- Consent (e.g., marketing emails—you can withdraw anytime).
- Contract (e.g., fulfilling a solar installation sale).
- Legitimate interests (e.g., essential business operations, balanced against your rights).
- Legal obligation (where required by Kenyan law).
5. Sharing Your Personal Data
We share data only when necessary:
- With service providers (e.g., payment gateways like M-Pesa integrations, logistics/delivery partners, installers—bound by contracts to protect data).
- With regulators/authorities if legally required.
- In a business transfer (e.g., merger—your data protected).
We do not sell your personal data. International transfers (if any, e.g., cloud hosting) will use safeguards like standard contractual clauses or adequacy decisions per the Act.
6. Data Retention
We keep personal data only as long as necessary:
- Order/customer records: 7 years after transaction (for tax/consumer law).
- Marketing lists: until consent withdrawn.
- Website logs: up to 12 months.
After that, we securely delete or anonymize it.
7. Your Rights Under the Data Protection Act
You have the right to:
- Access your data.
- Rectify inaccurate data.
- Erase data (in certain cases).
- Restrict processing.
- Object to processing (e.g., direct marketing).
- Data portability (where feasible).
- Withdraw consent (does not affect prior processing).
- Lodge a complaint with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC).
To exercise rights, email info@coastalsolar.africa. We respond within 14 days (extendable per law).
8. Cookies and Similar Technologies
Our website uses cookies for functionality, analytics, and performance.
- Essential cookies: required for site operation.
- Analytics cookies: track usage (e.g., Google Analytics—anonymous).
You can manage preferences via browser settings or our cookie banner. For details, see our Cookie Policy (or section on site).
9. Security
We use reasonable technical and organizational measures (e.g., encryption, access controls, secure hosting) to protect your data from unauthorized access, loss, or breach. In case of a breach, we notify you and ODPC as required by law.
10. Children’s Data
Our services are not directed at children under 18. We do not knowingly collect data from minors without parental consent.
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy. Changes will be posted here with the updated date. Continued use constitutes acceptance.
12. Contact Us
For questions, rights requests, or complaints: Email: info@coastalsolar.africa Phone: +254 716 842 775
Thank you for trusting Coastal Solar Africa with your data as we power your home/business with clean solar energy
Comments
When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.
An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.
Media
If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.
Cookies
If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.
If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.
If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.
Embedded content from other websites
Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.
These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
Who we share your data with
Suggested text: If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email.
How long we retain your data
If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.
For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.
What rights you have over your data
If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
Where your data is sent
Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.