The Africa DNS Forum 2025 opens in Accra, Ghana, under the theme “Resiliency of the DNS in Africa.”
Organised by ICANN, the Africa Top Level Domains Organisation, the AfRegistrar Association, and the Ghana Domain Name Registry, the forum is a flagship event for Africa’s domain name industry, bringing together registries, registrars, policymakers, and technical experts to chart the future of the Domain Name System (DNS) across the continent.
Key Focus Areas
- DNS Resilience: Ensuring Africa’s DNS infrastructure can withstand technical, operational, and security challenges.
- Market Growth: Addressing low domain uptake—ICANN studies show just over 5 million domain registrations across Africa’s 1 billion population, far below global averages.
- Registry & Registrar Operations: Strengthening the “3R Model” (registries, registrars, resellers) to encourage competition and avoid monopolies.
- Policy & Regulation: Improving data protection and regulatory frameworks to support sustainable industry growth.
- Innovation & Business Models: Exploring new approaches for online presence, digital entrepreneurship, and cross‑border collaboration.
“Africa’s Internet growth depends on collaboration and steady investment in technical readiness,” said Pierre Dandjinou, ICANN Vice President, Global Stakeholder Engagement, Africa.
The forum also emphasises the role of universities and research institutions in building technical expertise. As Professor Olusola Oyewole, Secretary‑General of the Association of African Universities, noted:
“Universities play a central role in shaping Africa’s digital future and developing the core expertise required for its management.”
The Africa DNS Forum is a strategic platform to:
- Boost regional participation in ICANN processes.
- Strengthen DNS resilience and operations.
- Encourage new entrants and investors into Africa’s domain name market.
- Align Africa’s digital ecosystem with global Internet standards.
By tackling challenges like low domain penetration and limited competition, the forum sets the stage for Africa’s digital economy to scale sustainably and for the continent to play a stronger role in global Internet governance.
