In 2012, The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) created a new application process in which global internet systems would be recognized more uniquely. Africa in One Space — the dotAfrica initiative’s official website — details that this new approach will “alter the digital landscape on the internet forever.”

However, with the dotAfrica (.africa) generic Top Level Domain movement (gTLD), the tech transition isn’t happening as quickly as planned. Of the 54 countries in Africa, only 17 governments have complied with the original deadline, which was earlier this month. The newly proposed deadline is now somewhere near the end of March, an IT Web Africa report said.

The dotAfrica domains are being created to distinguish businesses, governments and websites created in and for the African market. ZA Central Registry (ZACR) of South Africa, according to Africa in One Space, is heading the dotAfrica initiative. Unfortunately, ZACR is still working through struggles of garnering participation from more countries.

“As the envisaged May 2014 launch date for the new dotAfrica domain draws closer, it is now critical that all other African countries who desire a dotAfrica presence place their important names on the RNL,” Alice Munyua of the African Union Commission (AUC) and ZACR said in the IT Web Africa article.

Africa in One Space further reported that the dotAfrica plan is backed by the African Union Commission and required the approval of approximately 33 countries. Before registration for the initiative began, 75 percent of African countries voiced support. ZACR’s bid for the initiative was submitted to the AUC and ICANN in April of 2012.

Aside from grouping African businesses and government websites under an “umbrella,” the initiative will launch with the intent to create an official African internet community that will eventually promote more technology, infrastructure and e-commerce, Africa in One Space outlined.

The two-month launch delay, due to a lackluster registration process, may be pushed back even further depending on registration participation. So far, more than 600 sites have been added to the Reserved Names List (RNL), IT Web Africa noted. Twenty-six dotAfrica site names are pending. Tanzania, Egypt, Benin, Gabon, Liberia and Namibia are among the countries which have already registered.