The new dotAfrica internet domain continues to attract interest, with thousands registrations taking place for the top-level domain.
The dotAfrica top-level internet domain attracted over 8,000 registrations since its launch in July this year, displaying a popularity for the domain among businesses, organisations and individuals, according to CajnewsAfrica.
Lucky Masilela, CEO of the ZA Central Registry, which administers the domain, revealed that numerous brands, ranging from banks to media companies, have acted on their interest in the dotAfrica domain by acquiring their own unique address.
“Leading continental and international brands are snapping up dotAfrica domain names because they recognise the importance of being associated with Africa’s bright future online. With many positive stories coming out of Africa, brands understand that dotAfrica domain names are valuable virtual real estate,” said Masilela in a statement, according to ITWeb.
“Fifty-four countries in Africa are now united under a single, continent-wide domain name, staying true to the Oliver Tambo and Abuja Declarations of the 1990s. These written resolutions stated that ICT will be central to Africa’s future well-being and dotAfrica is surely among the top African-led ICT initiatives of the last 20 years,” the statement added.
The continued attraction to the domain builds on the heavy initial interest in dotAfrica, which placed it in the top 10 worldwide for the number of domain name reservations during the sunrise phase of a launch process, according to TechCentral.
DotAfrica recorded 981 domain registrations by trademark-holders and other intellectual property (IP) rights-holders over the 60 days from April 4.
The ZA Central Registry monitored interest from intellectual property owners that submitted marks through the global Trade Mark Clearing House as well as the ZA Central Registry’s own Mark Validation System, as is normal practice with regards to registries.
The dotAfrica initiative is fully endorsed by the African Union Commission (AUC) and has great support across the continent, with African governments, the business sector, civil society and the technical community all expressing their pleasure at the availability of the new top-level domain.
