The bid for Africa to get its own generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) has received a boost after .africa passed an “Initial Evaluation” by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
The ZA Central Registry (ZACR) is the body behind the bid and Mohammed El Bashir, chair of the dotAfrica steering committee, said: “The news is especially exciting coming as it did on the eve of the 47th ICANN International meeting that is now currently taking place in Durban with virtually the entire world Internet community represented.”
The dotAfrica bid is being supported by different internet stakeholders from across the continent, including the African Union Commission (AUC) and national governments.
El Bashir added: “The dotAfrica domain name extension will be an important online branding platform to promote business and tourism in Africa as it will assist in marketing efforts for the continent.”
If the bid is successful, dotAfrica steering committee will be replaced with a multi-stakeholder pan African dotAFRICA Foundation.
The ICANN International Meeting in Durban began on Friday and will end on Thursday, July 18.
