Privacy Policy
The Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE) Ltd (“ACE”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is a national private sector-led organisation to drive entrepreneurship and innovation in Singapore. ACE is supported by the government to strengthen the entrepreneurial scene and build a dynamic and sustainable startup ecosystem in Singapore. ACE operates this website (“this Site”) in connection with its undertaking of the said services and activities (“Services”).
In providing our Services, we take your privacy seriously and are committed to providing a safe online experience. We believe in being transparent about our practices, which is why we have provided this Privacy Policy (“Policy”) to explain how we collect, use and disclose your information.
This Policy
This Policy describes how your information, including Personal Data (described below), will be collected, used and shared in connection with your use of our Services and this Site, our legal basis for doing so as well as your rights and choices regarding the information you provide to us. This Policy is intended to meet the requirements of the Personal Data Protection Act of Singapore (“PDPA”)
We reserve the right to update this Policy from time to time. You should periodically visit this page to review the current terms of this Policy so that you are aware of any updated terms to which you are bound. However, any changes will not apply retrospectively.
By using our Services and/or this Site, you agree that you have read and understood this Policy, and you consent to our use of your information in accordance with this Policy.
If you have any questions about this Policy or our practices, please contact our Data Protection Officer (“DPO”) at info@ace.org.sg. (“DPO Contact”)
Meaning of “Personal Data”
“Personal Data” means data that may enable us to identify you personally, including data about a person who can be identified (i) from that data, or (ii) from that data and other information to which we have or are likely to have access.
Types of Data that we collect
Personal Data that you provide directly to us. When you use our Services and/or this Site, your Personal Data may be collected by us through your voluntary submission (e.g. when you contact us or when you sign up for our activities such as events and newsletter).
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“Identity Data” such as name, marital status, title, date of birth and gender, picture, copies of ID cards or other forms of identification;
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“Contact Data” such as your home/work/billing address, e-mail address and telephone number;
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“Financial Data” such as details of bank account, payment card and financial statements;
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“Transaction Data” such as details about payments to and from you and other details of services you have subscribed from us;
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“Marketing Data” such as your preferences in receiving marketing from us and our third parties and your communication preferences. If you correspond with us by email or messaging through the Services, we may retain the content of such messages and our responses;
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“Online Presence Data” such as links to your public account pages at social media websites and other online materials related to you;
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“Behavioral Data” such as inferred or assumed information relating to your behavior and interests, based on your online activity. This is most often collated and grouped into “segments”;
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“Technical Data” such as Internet protocol (IP) address, your login data, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform and other technology on the devices you use to access this Site or use our Services;
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Content Data” such as content you post to the Services not already included in another category, including your profiles, questions, preference settings, answers, messages, comments, and other contributions on the Services, and metadata about them (such as when you posted them) (collectively, “Content”).
Personal data from third party sources. We may also collect certain of your Personal Data from third party sources, for example, from social media sites, our affiliates, analytics providers, advertisers, and identity verification and compliance service providers.
Non-Identifiable or Aggregated Data. When you interact with us through this Site, we may receive and store certain personally non-identifiable information. Such information, which is collected passively using various technologies, cannot presently be used to specifically identify you. We may store such information itself or such information may be included in databases owned and maintained by our affiliates, agents or service providers. This Site may use such information and pool it with other information to track, for example, the total number of visitors to this Site, the number of visitors to each page of this Site, the domain names of our visitors’ Internet service providers, and how our users use and interact with our Services. Also, in an ongoing effort to better understand and serve the users of our Services, we often conduct research on our customer demographics, interests and behavior based on Personal Data and other information provided to us. This research may be compiled and analyzed on an aggregate basis. We may share such non-identifiable and aggregate data with our affiliates, agents and business partners, but this type of non-identifiable and aggregate information does not identify you personally. We may also disclose aggregated user statistics in order to describe our Services to current and prospective business partners, and to other third parties for other lawful purposes. However, if we combine or connect such non-identifiable or aggregated data with your Personal Data so that it can directly or indirectly identify you, we treat the combined data as Personal Data which will be used in accordance with this Privacy.
Data Minimalisation. We collect only relevant and minimal Personal Data limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are collected and processed. In this regard, you agree to provide only true, accurate, current and complete information about yourself.
Your Rights
You have the following rights under this Policy and the PDPA:
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Request access to your Personal Data. You may request access to your Personal Data that we possess or control. You may also request for how your Personal Data was used or disclosed within the year before your request.
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Request correction of the Personal Data that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate information we hold about you corrected.
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Withdraw consent. You may withdraw your consent to us collecting, using or disclosing your Personal Data at any time. If you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide you with some or all of our Services and/or access to the certain specific functionalities of our Site. We will advise you if this is the case at the time you withdraw your consent.
How to exercise your rights
If you wish to exercise the rights under the section above, please:
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put your request in writing to the DPO Contact;
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provide us with sufficient information, or we may request for further information, for us to verify your identity as our security measures to ensure that Personal Data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it; and
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specify the right which you wish to exercise and identify the relevant Personal Data for this purpose.
We will endeavor to respond to all legitimate requests within thirty (30) days unless your request is particularly complex or you have made multiple requests. In this regard, we will notify you and keep you posted. We reserve the right to charge a reasonable fee for services provided to you to enable us to respond to your access request, an estimate of which will be notified to you in advance. If your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive, we may refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.
If you wish to stop receiving marketing communications from us or modify your email preferences, you may follow the opt-out links on our marketing communications sent to you, or contact us to do so via the contact details provided below. Where you opt out of receiving these marketing communications, it does not mean that it will apply to Personal Data provided to us as a result of emails relating to existing or pending Services from us or consent to direct marketing communications which you may have given earlier.
You may submit a complaint to us through the DPO Contact in in relation to this Policy or our practices in relation to your Personal Data.
Consent and Withdrawal
By interacting with us using your Personal Data, or voluntarily submitting your Personal Data to us when using this Site or our Services, you agree and consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your Personal Data in accordance with this Policy.
You may, by notice in writing to us, withdraw your consent to our collection, use and/or disclosure of your Personal Data. Please note that we may still retain your Personal Data if such retention is required to satisfy legal, regulatory, accounting or other business requirements or to protect our interests.
You may decline to provide us with your information. If you choose not to provide any Personal Data whenever required by us, this may limit your ability to use certain features of this Site or our Services, or we might not be able to adequately deliver our Services to you.
How we use your Personal Data and lawful basis
Our primary objective in collecting and using your Personal Data is to provide, facilitate, personalise and/or improve our Services, including this Site, to you. Below are the more detailed examples of relevant purposes for which we may use your Personal Data:
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Providing, updating, and maintaining our Services, Site, business and client database, including to facilitate and fulfil our transactions with you, administering your participation in our events or activities and processing payment transactions, including transactions on behalf of our business partners such as in situations of joint events or joint marketing activities, or hosting of events through ACE venues or services;
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Conducting research and development, including to perform market, demographic or trend analysis/survey for research and marketing purposes, and for data aggregation and analytics;
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Communicating with users about our Services, including to interact with you via social media platforms, and to improve or personalise your online experience with us;
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Providing customer support, including to contact you regarding any complaints, feedback, queries or requests;
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Enhancing security, including to facilitate investigations into any suspicious or illegal activity on the Site or relating to use of our Services;
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Communicating with you for the purposes of marketing, promoting and driving engagement in respect of our Services, our present or future events or activities and third-party products and services which may be of interest to you based on your interactions with us e.g. investment and collaboration opportunities, seminars/events whether hosted by ACE, in partnership with ACE or through ACE’s services. Such communication may be in the form of postal mails, emails, text messages (only where you have given us clear and unambiguous consent, such as in the form of an opt-in method), social media channels, newsletters, brochures or other printed or digital communication;
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Complying with applicable law, legal process and regulations and protecting legitimate business interests;
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For internal administrative and management purposes of ACE;
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Any other purposes reasonably related to the aforesaid.
If we intend to use, handle or process any Personal Data in any manner that is not consistent with this Policy, we will publish a notification of change on this Site prior to the change becoming effective. You are deemed to have consented to such variation if we do not receive your notice of objection within seven (7) days from the date of the said notice.
Use of Cookies and Similar Technologies
Cookies
In order to improve our products or services, we collect data by way of “cookies”. A cookie is a small text file containing small amounts of information which are automatically downloaded into your computer (or other electronic device) when you access to this Site. Cookies help us to measure the number of visits, average time spent, page views and other statistics relating to your access to this Site. This information allows us to better administer this Site, and provide a more tailored and user-friendly service to our users. Cookies also enable you to use or access certain features or services of this Site. Each time you visit this Site from the same computer or device, the cookie will be retrieved from your computer or device, enabling this Site to recognise your computer or device as having previously visited the Site and thereby increase the functionality of the Site on your computer or device. Therefore, generally, we use cookies on to:
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recognise your browser as a previous visitor and save any preferences that may have been set during your last visit to this Site;
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obtain information about your preferences, online movements and use of the Internet;
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track website analytics and carry out research and statistical analysis to help improve our content, products and services and to help us better understand our visitors’ or customers’ requirements and interests;
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customise and target our marketing and advertising campaigns and those of our partners more effectively by providing personalised interest-based advertisements;
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measure and research the effectiveness of our interactive online content, features, advertisements, and other communications;
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make your online experience more efficient and enjoyable.
The information we obtain from our use of cookies will not usually contain your Personal Data. Although we may obtain information about your computer or other electronic device such as your IP address, your browser and/or other internet log information, this will not usually identify you personally. In certain circumstances, we may collect personal information about you but only where you voluntarily provide it (e.g. by completing an online form) or where you subscribe to our Service through the Site. The information we obtain through the use of cookies may be combined with other Personal Data relating to you.
In most cases, we will obtain your consent in order to use cookies on this Site. The exception is where the cookies are strictly necessary in order for us to operate this Site and/or to provide you with a service you have requested. Most web browsers and devices can be set to notify you when you receive a cookie or to prevent cookies from being sent. If you use these features, you may limit the functionality we can provide you when you visit this Site. You are free to block, delete, or disable the cookies if your device permits so. You can manage your cookies and your cookie preferences in your browser or device settings. If you have recently disabled one or more cookies, we will stop using the disabled cookies to collect any further information. However, we may still use information collected from such cookies prior to your selecting the ‘disable’ preference setting.
Third-Party Cookies
Third-party cookies are set by a third-party site separate from this Site. We work with third-party service providers who are authorised to place third-party cookies and may also set cookies on this Site. These third-party service providers are responsible for the cookies they set on this Site. If you want further information, please go to the website of the relevant third party. If you would like to opt-out of all other types of technologies we employ on this Site, you may do so by changing your browser settings to block, delete or disable these technologies as your browser or device permits.
Log Files
Log file information is automatically reported by your browser each time you access a web page. When you use this Site, our servers automatically record certain information your web browser sends whenever you visit any website. These server logs may include information such as your web request, Internet Protocol address, browser type, referring / exit pages and URLs, number of clicks, domain names, landing pages, pages viewed, and other such information.
Clear GIFs Information (Web Beacons)
When you use this Site, we may employ clear GIFs (also known as web beacons or tracking pixels) to anonymously track online usage patterns. No personally identifiable information about you is collected using these clear GIFs. In addition, we may also use clear GIFs in HTML-based emails sent to our users to track which emails are opened by recipients. The information collected is used to enable more accurate reporting and make ACE better for our users.
How we share your information
We are not in the business of selling your information. There are, however, certain circumstances in which we may share your Personal Data with certain third parties without further notice to you, such as with:
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Our Affiliates and Third-Party Partners. Certain authorised affiliates may access your Personal Data to help us develop, maintain and provide our Services and help manage our customer relationships (including providing customer support, customer liaison, etc). We may also share your Personal Data with our business partners whom we collaborate with in the organisation, management, hosting or promotion of events or activities in order to facilitate such events or activities, in which case these third parties are prohibited from using your Personal Data for any other purposes.
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Our Service Providers. Our service providers provide us support for our Services, including, for example, website and application development, hosting, maintenance, security, backup, storage, virtual infrastructure, payment processing, analysis, identity verification, background and compliance reviews, and other services for us, which may require them to access or use Personal Data about you. These third parties are prohibited from using your Personal Data for any other purposes.
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Our Professional Advisors. Our lawyers, accountants, bankers, auditors and insurers may need to review your Personal Data to provide consultancy, compliance, banking, legal, insurance, accounting and similar services. These third parties are prohibited from using your Personal Data for any other purposes.
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Governmental Authorities or Agencies. We may disclose your Personal Data to governmental authorities or agencies if we believe it is reasonably necessary to comply with a law, regulation, order, subpoena, rule of a self-regulatory organization or audit or to protect the safety of any person, to address fraud, security or technical issues, or to protect our legal rights, interests and the interests of others, such as, for example, in connection with the acquisition, merger or sale of securities or a business (e.g. due diligence). We will not share your Personal Data with non-governmental entities, except where such entities have been duly authorised to carry out specific governmental activities.
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Certain users of our Services may have access to your Personal Data for the purpose of enabling them to interact with you and more effectively offer opportunities through the Site that are targeted towards your background and preferences. We may also allow third-parties, including ad servers or ad networks, to serve advertisements on the Site, and such third parties may be provided with access to your Personal Data to provide advertising tailored to your interests.
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To enhance the public understanding of patterns and trends in the markets served by our Services, we may provide Personal Data to third parties under confidentiality obligations such as, for example, academics or contractors for research purposes. These third parties are prohibited from using your Personal Data for any other purposes.
As we develop our business, we might sell or buy businesses or assets. In the event of a corporate sale, merger, reorganization, dissolution or similar event, Personal Data may be part of the transferred assets.
We may also share non-Personal Data (such as anonymous usage data, referring/exit pages and URLs, platform types, number of clicks, etc.) with interested third parties to help them understand the usage patterns for certain Services or conduct independent research based on such anonymous usage data.
Recipients of your Personal Data may be located outside Singapore. You agree that we may transfer your Personal Data to our affiliates, subsidiaries and/or other authorised third parties located outside of Singapore, as long as the Personal Data is handled in accordance with this Policy and all applicable laws. We will ensure recipients of your Personal Data are legally bound to provide a standard of protection for your personal data comparable to the protection afforded under the PDPA.
Period of retention
Personal Data provided by you will be retained and stored as long as the purpose for which the data was required continues (unless you have withdrawn your consent for such purpose), or if its retention is required to satisfy legal, regulatory, accounting or other business requirements or to protect our interests. We will however periodically review the data we hold, and erase or anonymise it when we no longer need it.
Information About Others
If you give us information on behalf of someone else, you warrant that you have obtained the authorisation from that person to provide such Personal Data on his/her behalf and that other person has agreed that you can act on his or her behalf and (i) give consent on his or her behalf to the processing of his or her Personal Data in accordance with this Policy; (ii) receive on his or her behalf any data protection notices; and (iii) give consent to the use and transfer of his or her Personal Data abroad in accordance with this Policy. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless ACE from any claim that such authority did not exist.
Security
We use industry-standard physical, managerial, and technical safeguards to preserve the integrity and security of your information from loss, misuse, and unauthorised access or collection, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. We limit access to your Personal Data to those employees and other staff who have a business need to have such access. All such people are subject to a contractual duty of confidentiality. We cannot, however, ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us or guarantee that your information through our Services may not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed by a breach of any of our physical, managerial, or technical safeguards.
Monitoring and Checking
We may monitor and record communications with you (such as telephone conversations and emails) for the purpose of quality assurance, training, fraud prevention and compliance.
For the prevention of fraud and money laundering, we may search the files of credit reference from fraud prevention agencies (who will record the search). If you provide false or inaccurate information and we suspect fraud, we may disclose information about how you conduct the Site to such agencies and if the situation warrants it, we may have to report to law enforcement authorities.
We may preserve the content of any email or other electronic message that we receive. Any Personal Data contained in those messages will only be used or disclosed in ways set out in this Policy. The message content may be monitored by our service providers or employees for purposes including but not limited to compliance, auditing and maintenance or where email abuse is suspected.
Exclusions
This Policy applies to all users of our Services and this Site only. While you may encounter links on the Site to other websites, such as those relating to our third party partners, advertisers and other parties whom we collaborate with (“Third Party Platforms”), this Policy does not apply to the activities of such Third Party Platforms that may collect your Personal Data while accessing or using such third party’s services in connection with your use of this Site. The privacy practices of those third parties are not covered by this Policy. The links from this Site do not imply that we endorse or have reviewed the Third Party Platforms. We suggest you to contact those platforms directly for information on their privacy policies.
This Policy shall not apply to any unsolicited information you provide to us through this Site or any other means. This includes, but is not limited to, information posted to any public areas of the Site, such as message boards, any ideas or feedback, and other unsolicited submissions (collectively, “Unsolicited Information”). All Unsolicited Information shall be deemed to be non-confidential and ACE shall be free to reproduce, use, disclose, distribute and exploit such Unsolicited Information without limitation or attribution.
Privacy of Minors
We do not knowingly collect nor do we wish to collect and personally identifiable information or other user information from persons under the age of 18. In the event that we learn we have collected any personal information from a person under the age of 18, we will delete the information from our database and terminate the corresponding account, if any.
Governing Law and Dispute Resolution
Irrespective of the country from which you access or use this Site or our Services, to the extent permitted by law, this Policy shall be governed in accordance with the laws of Singapore without regard to choice or conflicts of law principles, and you hereby agree to submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Singapore to resolve any claims or disputes which may arise in connection with this Policy.