Registry Africa, the registry operator and administrator of the .africa domain name, is celebrating 10 years in the domain name industry and has renewed its Registry Operator Agreement with ICANN for a further 10 years.
ICANN is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Name and Numbers. It is a non-profit partnership of people from all over the world dedicated to keeping the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. It promotes competition and develops policy on the Internet’s unique identifiers.
The journey of .africa was influenced by the continental visionaries who lobbied for the name Africa to be included in the digital name space and to attract users across the globe. This process saw interested parties across the length and breadth of the continent lobby for the name to get critical support from the continent’s governments and the African Union to enable its successful application.
Registry Africa CEO Lucky Masilela comments: “Today, as we celebrate this milestone, we look back at the journey which hasn’t been without its challenges and are filled with immense pride. Our contract being renewed is a sign of the responsible and trusted way in which we have delivered on our previous contracted mandate to manage this African top level domain name for Africans by Africans.
“The African digital space is full of opportunities; and as technology advances and Internet penetration rates increase across the continent, so too the .africa domain name is poised to play an even more important role in driving digital transformation, economic growth and social development in Africa.” he adds.