Advertorial: ZADNA – Gain from SA’s web

Gain from SA’s web

Calling SMME’s, youth and women to actively participate in South Africa’s domain name industry, anyone can benefit – Angel Selebano

Since 1994, South Africa’s internet industry has been dominated by a few players. This may no longer be the case as the .ZA Domain Name Authority (ZADNA) creates opportunities for new entrants to the Information Communications and Technology (ICT) sector – particularly for South African youth, women and people living with disabilities.

ZADNA – the statutory regulator and manager of the .za domain namespace, which is South Africa’s internet country code top-level domain – is actively seeking ways to ensure that South Africans participate in this simple yet seemingly complex ecosystem. Citizens within the sector are encouraged to subscribe as members of ZADNA. This is a crucial step to bridging the digital divide and allowing all stakeholders to contribute to the policy development of the .za namespace and be part of improving the country’s internet ecosystem.

ZADNA’s educational initiatives ensure that communities know about business opportunities within the industry. Opportunities vary from being a reseller to a registrar for domain names, which allows you to own an entity that provides domain names such as co.za.

ZADNA recently terminated a 10-year long registry operating agreement for the commercial .za second-level domains. This was followed by a Request For Information (RFI) process from the industry for ZADNA to determine the current skill set and competencies available within South Africa.

“This RFI process was insightful as it presented options and solutions for the registry services market and created the opportunity for small businesses to form alliances with big players in delivering registry services and solutions for South Africa,” says Molehe Wesi, ZADNA’s CEO.

“We have decided to open the space for all people, irrespective of their demographic background, to embrace the opportunity presented by the technology landscape. Everyone uses the web daily, and we see no reason why they shouldn’t participate in the economic activity of the industry that they support,” says Wesi. “ZADNA is now facilitating an enabling environment for entrepreneurs to contribute meaningfully to the ICT sector.” This means that a young entrepreneur from a township can now actively participate in the domain namespace by either becoming a registrar, a website domain name reseller, or even an entity that provides opportunities for the youth to drive the ecosystem.

“We are determined to realise the obligations of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act by demystifying the industry and implementing an enabling regulatory framework to allow more participants to engage in economic activity. Anyone can participate,” says Wesi. “We will conduct virtual workshops to empower passionate young people, people with disabilities and women to engage in the process and embrace the opportunities,” he explains. According to Wesi, ZADNA strives to strengthen relations and engagement with the .za stakeholders, ensure collaborative efforts are pursued, and that the namespace remains competitive.

ZADNA is a nonprofit organisation. It is accountable to its members and the South African Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, but does not receive government funding.

Scan this QR code to go directly to the ZADNA website.

T: 010 020 3910 E: info@zadna.org.za E: www.zadna.org.za