.africa domain gets thumbs-up, set to unify regional online identity

In an effort to create a Pan-African identity for organisations online, the .africa domain has been given the thumbs-up from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The application was lodged in March 2012 and was finally signed into being recently.

The aim of this new domain is to forge a unique online space which will associate organisations, products, services and information with the continent and people of Africa as a whole. The non-profit association at the forefront of this move, dotAfrica, says that this will bring the continent together as an internet community “under one umbrella allowing ecommerce, technology and infrastructure to flourish”.

Why should African organisations care about registering for this domain? Having .africa next to your company name online will help showcase your brand and commitment to Africa’s growth and development. Regional integration and support is key to the continent’s growth going forward.

DotAfrica also points out that organisations would be able to expand their presence and influence in the region, establish a home for Africa-specific services, products and information, as well as acquiring valuable online real-estate in a fast-growing, high-potential market.

The first phase of dotAfrica domain applications will officially begin in May 2014. Key drivers of this initiative include ZACR and African Union Commission (AUC). ZACR’s Luck Masilela details what the next phase entails:

“In May 2014, the curtains will rise and the first of the dotAfrica domains will become available for application during the initial sunrise and land rush phases. The former will seek to ensure that domain names are made available to applicants who have corresponding trade mark rights, while the latter will see generic premium domain names being made available to the public.”