ICANN has a long-standing and valued relationship with stakeholders across Africa that began more than two decades ago. On 8 April 2005, ICANN recognized AFRINIC as the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) to manage, distribute, and register Internet number resources (IPv4 and IPv6 address space and Autonomous System Numbers) across the continent in alignment with its community-developed policies. Over the following years, ICANN has expanded its engagement in the region, invested in infrastructure, and developed local technical capacity to foster a more secure, resilient, and accessible Internet.
Recently, ICANN has received queries about its involvement in, and views on, a proposed new governance model called the Council of African Internet Governance Authorities (CAIGA), developed by Smart Africa.
In December 2022 ICANN launched the Coalition for Digital Africa (CDA) to bring together stakeholders to expand the Internet in Africa. The Coalition promotes innovation and encourages entrepreneurial efforts aimed at strengthening Internet infrastructure to support the development of Africa’s digital economy. Smart Africa became a partner in the CDA in 2023 and has contributed to an initiative to 1) encourage African participation in global Internet governance fora and discussions, particularly within ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee; and 2) provide technical expertise to governments and lawmakers to support the development of policies and regulations that harness Africa's digital transformation.
In November 2024, ICANN and Smart Africa entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to foster a stable, secure, and accessible Internet in Africa. Under the MoU, the two organizations will:
- Organize capacity-development events and training workshops to empower African stakeholders.
- Host community outreach and engagement activities to raise awareness on key topics within Internet governance, where the missions of ICANN and Smart Africa intersect.
In furtherance of that MoU, ICANN and Smart Africa entered into a Project Agreement for Smart Africa to develop a reference document – the IG Blueprint – that sets out a long-term vision and roadmap for Internet governance in Africa. ICANN contributed $40,000 to that effort. Notably, both the MoU and the Project Agreement with Smart Africa focus on broader Internet governance issues and not RIR governance. While a well-governed RIR is part of a healthy Internet governance landscape, ICANN’s funding of the IG Blueprint development did not include any directive to cover AFRINIC governance, modify AFRINIC, or envision a different RIR structure to serve the region.
ICANN provided administrative support for the Smart Africa coordination group’s efforts to organize regional dialogues on how to develop an Internet governance approach at the continental level during each ICANN meeting, beginning with ICANN80 in Kigali. In response to common requests from governments and Smart Africa in discussions related to CAIGA, ICANN has continuously reiterated that the Internet Coordination Policy-2 (ICP-2) and the requirements under it, remain the governance mechanism for any RIR. When a final version of the IG Blueprint is published for public comment, ICANN will provide inputs as appropriate.
Further, ICANN’s financial and administrative support for the development of the IG Blueprint does not equate to ownership or responsibility for the content, similar to how researchers might obtain a grant or other financial support without attributing the results of that research to the funder.
Smart Africa presented the draft IG Blueprint at ICANN84, and it includes many specific proposals about how stakeholders in Africa can strengthen Internet governance, and proposals on AFRINIC’s future and potential governance. There was significant interest raised from many stakeholders about the draft. ICANN maintains that any changes or proposals regarding the governance of AFRINIC must be discussed and decided by the AFRINIC members and the African Internet community, regardless of who proposes them. We would also expect that community inputs on the proposed Internet governance framework will be considered appropriately before any model is finalized. Further, the community must be given appropriate time to consider any proposed changes to the current model, be it on Internet governance in general or the governance of AFRINIC. From ICANN’s perspective, there is no foregone conclusion as to how we will participate or what the Internet governance model should look like, so long as that model is supported by stakeholders and, in the case of AFRINIC, is consistent with the criteria of ICP-2 and is supported by the community. ICANN’s participation will be guided by its mission at all times. Building an Internet governance framework, such as the proposed CAIGA, could impact other areas, such as the broader question of RIR governance, which is under discussion within a process currently being led by the Address Supporting Organization Address Council.
ICANN has consistently reinforced the principles of ICP-2 in our engagements with governments and intergovernmental organizations across Africa and elsewhere. We firmly believe that the Internet community must decide the future of the RIR for Africa. As it relates to AFRINIC, ICANN’s role and commitment has been and is to defend the multistakeholder model, and particularly the governance model for RIRs as under ICP-2. ICANN stepped in and defended AFRINIC members’ right to representation through fair elections, including in court and publicly, precisely because we defend the bottom-up multistakeholder model and because we believe that AFRINIC members must determine its future.
