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Africa is a diverse, youthful and boisterous continent of over 800 million people living in over 50 countries and territories.

In spite of the diverse cultures, languages, climate, economies, a common factor among African countries is the economic and human potential.

While Internet infrastructure and local web services in Africa are still playing catch-up with the rest of the world, the launch of the .africa domain top-level domain (TLD) presents an opportunity to build an African tech ecosystem that unities behind a common domain namespace. .africa’s domain registry and its technical operations are African.

.africa is not just another domain extension. It is an answer to a clarion call for a truly African identity, on the web. It meets the aspirations of African and pan-African individuals and entities that seek a domain name that announces their pan-African aspiration. From the largest multinationals with operations in Africa to small-scale/informal business operations, there couldn’t be a better name that represents their identity, on the World Wide Web.

The new domain extension is not exclusive to individuals, organizations, companies, governments and other entities within the geography of Africa but is open to every entity that identifies with Africa, globally.

Landrush Phase for .africa would start on 5th June 2017 and would last till 30th June 2017. This phase is perfect for applicants who have no trademark for a name and/or are willing to pay a premium pricing for .africa domains that do not have prior rights associated with them.

General Availability phase would follow from 4th July 2017. Domain registration applications may be received from any eligible party and will be delegated by the .africa registry on a first come, first served basis.

.africa domains would be available from Web4Africa. Founded in 2002, Web4Africa is an ICANN Accredited Domain Registrar and pan-African Web Hosting provider serving clients worldwide from 4 datacentres across Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa.

Web4Africa is a leading Accredited Registrar in Africa, based on the volumes of domains under its accreditation, as well as the number of domain extensions offered.

The post .AFRICA: the Domain for Africa appeared first on Disrupt Africa.

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