The ZA Central Registry (ZACR) has confirmed that the .africa (dotAfrica) geographic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) are officially open to the general public for registration.

"The floodgates have finally been thrown open and .africa domains are now available for registration on a first-come, first-served basis," said Lucky Masilela, Chief Executive Officer of ZACR while speaking at the 29th AU Summit held recently in Addis Ababa.

According to the Registry, .africa gTLD enjoys the support of the African Union Commission (AUC) and the majority of African governments.

ZACR explains that during the Sunrise Phase of the .africa launch, registered trademark owners were allowed to apply for .africa domain names. The second launch phase, being Landrush saw brand owners, businesses and the general public registering premium domains under the .africa gTLD.

"The long wait to general availability has now come to an end. Africa's new home on the internet is now available for occupation," said Masilela.

The organisation said in mid-June that the dotAfrica domain recorded 981 registrations by trademark owners over the 60 days from 4 April 2017, placing it firmly within the top 10.

Masilela asserts that the new .africa gTLD enables the acquisition of valuable online real-estate in a fast-growing and high-potential market. It also enables individuals and organisations to showcase their brands while establishing a home for Africa-specific products and services.

The African countries are now united under a single, continent-wide domain name. "Initiatives like .africa help harness the power of new technologies to solve old problems and grow value for the continent through the .africa Foundation. .africa is unique in that it gives Africans that important sense of pride and identity at the same time motivates them to achieve the very best for their continent and themselves. ZACR petitions all Africans in particular and the world at large to take ownership of .africa during general availability as this new domain truly belongs to us all," concludes Masilela.