Sisterhood is the best way to describe the South African Council for Business Women (SACBW) Nelspruit. These women support one another’s businesses as much as possible to help them grow. On Thursday SACBW held one of its networking events at The Blue Gate.

Jana Doussy, director, intellectual property practitioner and attorney at Stegmanns Inc delivered a presentation on the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act. Doussy covered everything one needs to know as a business owner and how to comply to the Act.

According to Doussy, POPI governs the way in which personal information is collected, stored, used and deleted. “It sets the conditions to lawfully process personal information. It does not stop you from processing data and it does not require you to get consent from data subjects to process their personal information,” she explained.

There are five steps to be compliant. “Compile your POPI policies, not a download from the Internet. Appoint an information officer, conduct a personal information impact assessment, create awareness among your employees and implement your policies,” said Doussy.

“If you do not comply, you could be fined R10 million or undergo 10 years’ imprisonment, or both. You could be ordered to pay compensation to affected parties. Damages could be claimed, for example, identity theft. This is reputational damage,” she said.

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During the event, Sandra Jacobs and Estelle Roe handed out an honorary member certificate to Pinky Phosa.

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This follows after the national council said she should be acknowledged for the role she plays in the community and because she is an inspiration to many women.