AFRINIC Internet Registry for Africa

AFRINIC is the Internet registry responsible for managing IP addresses and other Internet resources for Africa. It was established in 2004.

AFRINIC's mission is to facilitate the development and growth of the Internet in Africa. AFRINIC's services include IP address allocation, reverse DNS, and WHOIS services, which help to ensure the stability and security of the Internet in the region.

AFRINIC has a strong presence in Africa, with offices in Mauritius and South Africa, and a network of regional offices. This allows AFRINIC to provide local support and services to its members and the wider Internet community in Africa.

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AFRINIC, short for The African Network Information Centre, is a membership-based nonprofit organization that operates under corporate Legal Frameworks in Mauritius.

It's responsible for observing and monitoring the allocation of Internet number resources in the African service region.

AFRINIC focuses on the management and distribution of two main types of resources: IP addresses and Autonomous System Numbers (ASNs).

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AFRINIC is a non-profit organization that serves as a Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for Africa, providing IP address allocations to organizations and individuals in the region.

AFRINIC was established in 2003 and is headquartered in Mauritius.

Their mission is to promote the development of the Internet in Africa by ensuring the availability and sustainability of IP addresses.

AFRINIC has a membership of over 2,500 organizations and individuals from across the continent.

They are responsible for managing a large portion of the Internet's address space, with over 6 million IP addresses under their management.

AFRINIC has a strong presence in Africa, with offices in Mauritius, South Africa, and Kenya.

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AFRINIC is a non-profit, non-governmental, community-led entity, established in 2004 in Mauritius, as required by ICANN policy for regional Internet registries.

The entity is based in Ebene, Mauritius, and operates independently of governments or politicians.

AFRINIC is governed by ICANN policy, specifically Internet Coordination Policy 2 (ICP-2), "Criteria for Establishment of New Regional Internet Registries".

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AFRINIC is a non-profit, non-governmental, community-led entity, established in 2004 in Mauritius, as required by ICANN policy for regional Internet registries.

It's worth noting that AFRINIC has a unique structure, separate from governments or politicians.

AFRINIC is a regional Internet registry, one of the organizations established in 2004, and it plays a crucial role in the Internet in Africa.

Here are the key facts about AFRINIC's organization:

AFRINIC's bylaws prescribe a nine-member board of directors, which is elected by its members.

The organization's bylaws define the quorum for the annual general member meeting, which is a crucial aspect of AFRINIC's governance structure.

AFRINIC's service region is the continent of Africa and adjacent islands in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, including Madagascar.

It's divided into six sub-regions to ensure regional representation on the board of directors: Eastern Region, Western Region, Central Africa, Northern Africa, Southern Africa, and Indian Ocean.

AFRINIC is responsible for the IP address space of several sub-regions, including Northern Africa, Western Africa, Eastern Africa, and the Indian Ocean region.

Here are the sub-regions AFRINIC serves:

The Council of Elders is an advisory body that plays a crucial role in AFRINIC's decision-making process. It's made up of up to six former board chairs.

The Council of Elders advises the board, but it's not elected by organization members. This means that its members are chosen based on their past experience and contributions to AFRINIC.

As of 2023, the Council of Elders consisted of Nii N. Quaynor, Pierre S. Dandjinou, Viv Padayatchy, Maimouna Ndeye Diop Diagne, and Christian Bope.

AFRINIC enables reverse DNS lookup for its IPv4 and IPv6 address blocks, allowing users to look up an IP address and find associated domain names in the Domain Name System (DNS).

AFRINIC publishes reverse DNS zone data to support Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC).

To improve the resiliency of DNS in its service region, AFRINIC offers secondary DNS hosting services for primary name servers in Africa.

AFRINIC provides professional and efficient distribution of internet number resources to everyone in the African region.

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AFRINIC manages IPv4 addresses, which are widely-supported but relatively scarce, and IPv6 addresses, which are newer and plentiful but not yet supported by all systems.

AFRINIC manages about 6% of the global IPv4 address pool, a smaller amount per capita than other regions.

AFRINIC's service region includes Africa and part of the Indian Ocean, with sub-regions such as Northern Africa, Western Africa, Eastern Africa, and the Indian Ocean region.

AFRINIC has around 2,000 members, primarily internet service providers (ISPs), governments, universities, data center providers, banks, and whoever is in need of internet number resources in the African region.

AFRINIC's main function is to govern the internet number resource space for Africa and provide a stable and safe internet that allows growth to their business.

AFRINIC offers two main services: support for Internet technology usage and development, and strengthening internet self-governance.

AFRINIC administers both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, as well as autonomous system numbers, which are unique identifiers of every autonomous system.

AFRINIC's services are essential for the African internet community, which includes all African countries and the Indian Ocean region.

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AFRINIC manages a significant portion of the global internet number resources, specifically about 6% of the global IPv4 address pool. This is a smaller amount per capita than other regions.

AFRINIC receives large blocks of internet numbers from the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), a function of the nonprofit Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

AFRINIC manages both IPv4 addresses and IPv6 addresses, the former being relatively scarce and the latter being newer and plentiful but not yet supported by all systems.

AFRINIC allocates and registers IP addresses and autonomous system (AS) numbers for network operators in its service region, which includes Africa and part of the Indian Ocean.

Here's a breakdown of the regions AFRINIC serves:

AFRINIC provides reverse DNS lookup for its IPv4 and IPv6 address blocks, allowing users to find associated domain names in the Domain Name System (DNS).

This service is particularly useful for troubleshooting internet connectivity issues. AFRINIC's reverse DNS lookup enables users to identify the domain names associated with a specific IP address.

AFRINIC publishes reverse DNS zone data to support Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC). This ensures the integrity and authenticity of DNS data.

AFRINIC offers secondary DNS hosting services for primary name servers in Africa, improving the resiliency of DNS in its service region.

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AFRINIC staff develop its Internet number allocation policies in collaboration with its members and the broader Internet community.

Representatives from various organizations participate in policy development, primarily but not exclusively from Africa. These representatives include those from governments, standards organizations, companies, academia, news media, the technical community, civil society, and other not-for-profit organizations.

AFRINIC conducts two public policy meetings each year, giving members and stakeholders a chance to come together for policy development, information sharing, and networking. The first meeting is part of the Africa Internet Summit, an annual multi-stakeholder event, and the second is a standalone meeting held in various locations throughout Africa.

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AFRINIC staff develop Internet number allocation policies in collaboration with members and the broader Internet community. This collaboration includes representatives from governments, standards organizations, companies, academia, news media, the technical community, civil society, and other not-for-profit organizations, primarily from Africa.

AFRINIC conducts two public policy meetings each year, which are the primary forums for policy development. These meetings provide members and stakeholders with a chance to come together for policy development, information sharing, and networking.

The first public policy meeting of each year is part of the Africa Internet Summit, an annual multi-stakeholder event co-organized by the African Network Operators Group. The second meeting is held as a standalone event.

AFRINIC participates in the Number Resource Organization, which enables the five regional Internet registries to coordinate with each other and make joint policy recommendations to ICANN.

Capacity building is a crucial aspect of AFRINIC's mission to promote the development of the internet in Africa. AFRINIC conducts training courses for network administrators, network architects, and other network engineers across its service region.

These workshops cover essential topics like Internet number resource management and the implementation of IPv6 networks. Participants learn to configure, manage, and administer Internet services and infrastructure using current best practices.

AFRINIC also offers online training courses on IPv6 deployment, Internet number resource management, DNSSEC, and RPKI. These courses are designed to equip participants with the skills they need to succeed in the ever-evolving internet landscape.

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In 2007, AFRINIC partnered with the African Telecommunications Union to accelerate the adoption of IPv6 networks in Africa. This partnership was a response to the impending IPv4 exhaustion and the need for a more sustainable internet infrastructure.

AFRINIC has supported the deployment of regional root name server copies that are compatible with both IPv4 and IPv6. This has helped to improve internet performance and reliability across the continent.

AFRINIC has also collaborated with the Internet Society to train staff of Internet exchange points and Internet service providers. This training aims to support routing more of Africa's internet traffic within the continent, reducing reliance on external connections.

The organizations have also worked together on measurement initiatives to evaluate internet performance and reliability across Africa.

AFRINIC was created in 2004 as a regional registry for Africa, marking the last of its kind to be formed. This was after ICANN realized the need for a regional registry in the continent.

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The Regional Internet Registry for Africa was officially recognized in April 2005, and shortly after, AFRINIC introduced a membership program that allowed individuals and organizations to apply for membership as long as they qualified.

AFRINIC has an open policy development process, a new approach to the RIR system at the time, which allows everyone to participate. This is reflected in their Public Policy Meetings, which are held twice a year for open policy discussions.

AFRINIC's Board of Directors is responsible for making decisions based on the organization's bylaws, and it consists of nine individuals. The board is composed of six members elected to serve each sub-region of the continent, two members elected based on their competency, and the Chief Executive Officer.

AFRINIC's goals include operating an effective Internet Number Resources registry transparently and inclusively, ensuring financial sustainability, and providing information, training, and supportive services to the community.

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AFRINIC was created in 2004 as a response to the growing need for a regional registry in Africa. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) recognized this need and AFRINIC was born.

Before AFRINIC, APNIC, RIPE NCC, and ARIN were responsible for allocating internet number resources to the African and Indian Ocean region.

AFRINIC became an official Regional Internet Registry (RIR) in April 2005, marking a significant milestone in its development.

AFRINIC introduced an open policy development process, allowing everyone to participate and making it a unique addition to the RIR system.

The AFRINIC Board of Directors is responsible for making decisions based on its bylaws. The board consists of nine individuals, with six members elected to serve each sub-region of the continent, two elected based on their competency, and the remaining member being the Chief Executive Officer.

Here's a breakdown of the AFRINIC Board of Directors:

AFRINIC's mission is to provide an effective Internet Number Resources registry that is transparent, inclusive, and financially sustainable.

AFRINIC has undergone several changes since its inception. AFRINIC was initially known as the African Network Information Centre and was established in 2003.

In 2005, AFRINIC was officially recognized as a Regional Internet Registry (RIR) by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). AFRINIC's role expanded to include the allocation and management of IP addresses and Autonomous System numbers for Africa.

AFRINIC's membership has grown significantly over the years, with over 3,000 members from 44 countries. The organization has also established a number of initiatives to promote Internet governance and development in Africa.

AFRINIC has also made efforts to improve its services and infrastructure, including the implementation of a new IP address allocation policy in 2011.

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AFRINIC became the last regional Internet registry to run down to its last /8 block of IPv4 addresses in April 2017, triggering the final phase of its IPv4 exhaustion policy.

In response, AFRINIC implemented a soft landing policy for allocating the last /8 to its users, ensuring a smooth transition.

As of 2020, each AFRINIC customer was eligible for one final maximum allocation of a /22 block of IPv4 addresses until the block was exhausted.

By 2025, AFRINIC had only about 0.06% of their /8 IPv4 addresses remaining available, approximately 1 million addresses.

In 2019, a significant scandal involving the theft of IP address space rocked the AFRINIC community.

AFRINIC's senior staff member Ernest Byaruhanga was accused of stealing 4.1 million IPv4 addresses over several years.

The market value of the stolen addresses was initially estimated to be US$54,000,000, but was later revised to US$80,000,000.

Byaruhanga allegedly changed WHOIS registration records to reassign IPv4 address blocks from their rightful holders to companies that purchased the blocks on the grey market.

Many of the stolen addresses were used to host gambling and pornography websites aimed at people in China.

CEO Alan Barrett resigned in July 2019, and Eddy Kayihura became CEO in October 2019.

Kayihura arranged for APNIC to help AFRINIC investigate the reports of theft.

AFRINIC dismissed Byaruhanga from the organization for theft of IP address space in December 2019.

The organization also filed criminal charges against Byaruhanga.

Between January and July 2020, AFRINIC worked to reclaim stolen IP address blocks, correct WHOIS records, and improve internal security measures.

In August 2020, Afri Holdings Ltd, Netstyle A. Ltd, and Elad Cohen applied for an injunction against AFRINIC.

MyBroadBand reported that Cohen was connected to misappropriated IP address space.

Logic Web Inc initiated legal action against AFRINIC after AFRINIC reclaimed IP address space from the company.

AFRINIC has made significant efforts to improve security, including reducing the risk of Border Gateway Protocol hijacking through its Internet Routing Registry (IRR). In 2025, 1,767 members were using AFRINIC's IRR.

The organization also supports Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI), which enhances the security of Border Gateway Protocol routing. By 2025, 720 members had adopted RPKI, with 11,216 Route Origin Authorizations.

However, AFRINIC has faced security threats, including the theft of IP address space. In 2019, a senior staff member stole 4.1 million IPv4 addresses, valued at up to $80 million.

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AFRINIC has taken significant steps to improve routing security, starting with the establishment of its own Internet Routing Registry (IRR) in 2013. This move has led to a notable increase in adoption, with 1,767 members currently using AFRINIC's IRR.

AFRINIC's IRR facilitates Internet traffic and helps reduce the risk of Border Gateway Protocol hijacking. This is a major concern for network security, and AFRINIC's efforts are helping to mitigate this risk.

Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI) is another critical component of AFRINIC's routing security support. By adopting RPKI, AFRINIC members can further enhance the security of their Border Gateway Protocol routing.

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In 2019, a massive theft of IP address space was reported, with an AFRINIC senior staff member, Ernest Byaruhanga, stealing 4.1 million IPv4 addresses over several years. The estimated market value of the theft was initially reported as US$54,000,000 and later revised to US$80,000,000.

The stolen addresses were used to host various websites, including gambling and pornography sites aimed at people in China. Byaruhanga changed WHOIS registration records to reassign IPv4 address blocks from their rightful holders to companies that purchased the blocks on the grey market.

AFRINIC's CEO, Alan Barrett, resigned in July 2019, and Eddy Kayihura took over as CEO in October 2019. Kayihura brought in the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC) to help investigate the reports of theft.

In December 2019, Byaruhanga was dismissed from the organization, and AFRINIC filed criminal charges against him. Between January and July 2020, AFRINIC worked to reclaim stolen IP address blocks, correct WHOIS records, and improve internal security measures.

The case is not an isolated incident, as another Regional Internet Registry (RIR), ARIN, also had a problem with criminal activity. A man named Amir Golestan and his company, Micfo, obtained the rights to approximately 757,760 IP addresses with a market value around $10 million by creating fake company registrations.

AFRINIC is the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for Africa and Indian Ocean Region. This means they play a crucial role in managing the internet's infrastructure and ensuring its growth in the region.

AFRINIC's presence in Africa is reflected in their various locations, including Technology, Information and Internet Los Angeles, CA, and Technology, Information and Internet Reston, Virginia. These locations demonstrate their global reach and commitment to serving the African continent.

AFRINIC's focus on technology and the internet is also evident in their operations, which span across different regions, including Brisbane, QLD, and Montevideo, Montevideo.

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AFRINIC is the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for Africa and Indian Ocean Region.

AFRINIC's role is to manage the distribution of IP addresses and other internet resources in the region, ensuring that internet infrastructure is developed and used efficiently.

AFRINIC's headquarters are located in Mauritius, a country strategically positioned in the Indian Ocean.

AFRINIC has a presence in several locations around the world, including Technology, Information and Internet Los Angeles, CA, Technology, Information and Internet Reston, Virginia, and Technology, Information and Internet Brisbane, QLD.

AFRINIC's global presence allows it to stay connected with the international internet community and stay up-to-date with the latest developments in internet technology.

Here are some of the locations where AFRINIC has a presence:

AFRINIC's presence in these locations enables it to provide support and services to its members and the wider internet community in Africa and beyond.

AFRINIC is a nonprofit organization registered and operating under the Corporate Legal Frameworks of Mauritius.

Mauritius is the country where AFRINIC is based.

AFRINIC's mission is to support Internet technology usage and development across the continent of Africa.

The organization is responsible for the distribution and management of Internet number resources in Africa and the Indian Ocean region.

AFRINIC receives Internet number resources from Public Technical Identifiers (PTI) and re-allocates them to its members within the African region.

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