Africa finally gets unique Internet Domain 25 years after World Wide Web launched

More than three decades after the first domain name was registered, and over 25 years after the World Wide Web launched, Africa finally has its own internet domain fully owned by Africa named ‘DotAfrica’, APA reports on Wednesday.

This milestone was announced in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at the 29th ordinary session of the African Union Assembly. The objective of the launch was to mark the commencement of the DotAfrica operational phase by setting up a road show starting at the AU headquarters.

DotAfrica will bring the continent together as an internet community under one umbrella and create an opportunity to forge a unique online identity which will associate products, services and or information with the continent and the people of Africa,” read a communiqué.

The idea of DotAfrica was conceived in 2000 when some African internet professionals argued that DotAfrica should be operated by Africans for the benefit of the entire continent.

Reports say Africa has recorded robust growth with international tourist arrivals and tourism revenues growing at 6 percent and 9 percent respectively each year between 1995 and 2014, over the last two decades.

In its Economic Development in Africa report 2017, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said tourism in Africa is a flourishing industry that supports more than 21 million jobs.

The report said tourism attracted capital investment of $26 billion on average in 2011-2014 to the African economy, and that this amount represented 1.8 percent of total GDP of the continent.

It added that international tourist arrivals in Africa increased to 56 million in the period 2011-2014, from 24 million in the previous one (1995-1998) and that the figure is forecast to grow to 134 million by 2030.

Tourism export revenues have more than tripled, increasing from $14 billion to approximately $47 billion, between 1995 and 2014. It is now estimated to contribute about 8.5 percent to the continent’s gross domestic product (GDP).