On 27 July 2025, Internet Society President and CEO Sally Wentworth delivered the following remarks to the ICTs Ministers Consultative Meeting on AFRINIC convened by the African Telecommunications Union. The remarks below are as prepared.
Thank you to Minister Zerrouki, and Secretary Omo, for organizing this meeting and for including voices from the Internet technical community in this important conversation.
The discussions we have today and the support we collectively provide for AFRINIC will affect the future of the Internet in Africa and the global technical coordination that has made the Internet the success it is today.
At the Internet Society, our goal is that people everywhere have affordable, reliable, and resilient Internet connectivity, and that they have a safe and secure experience online. For that to happen in Africa, there needs to be a strong and trusted AFRINIC that operates with the broad support of the community, including governments, civil society actors, the technical community, private sector entities, and academia. For this reason, we care deeply about the future of the organization and about the success of its upcoming election.
AFRINIC is a custodian of critical Internet resources that Africa needs for its digital transformation. As one of the five Regional Internet Registries, AFRINIC is vital for the continent’s economic and social growth, the resilience of Africa’s Internet infrastructure, and for the region’s participation in global Internet governance and technical coordination. AFRINIC’s role is to ensure the efficient distribution of the unique Internet number resources based on bottom-up, multistakeholder policy development processes. This coordination of unique Internet resources is an essential underpinning of the global Internet ecosystem that enables interoperability.
African Governments have, of course, and will continue to have an important role in AFRINIC. For example, the AFRINIC Government Working Group was established 15 years ago to facilitate open and interactive dialogue between AFRINIC and key stakeholders such as African governments, ICT regulators, and law enforcement authorities. Since then, this group has been a key element of AFRINIC’s governance system, working alongside other stakeholders within the community.
Africa also has a rich ecosystem of technical communities that build, maintain, and support the Internet’s infrastructure. Across the continent there are over 10 network operator groups. There are peering forums and 57 Internet exchange points. There are Country Code Top Level Domain operators. There are National Research and Education Networks that deliver connectivity to academic institutions. There are 62 government networks that enable digital public services and civic engagement to enhance public service delivery. There are community networks where local communities are creating their own connections to the Internet.
All of these communities make up more than 2,400 organizations that rely on the network resources that are managed across Africa by AFRINIC. They will be joined by even more communities in the months and years ahead as the remaining 64% of Africa’s population comes online.
As the community considers next steps to stabilize AFRINIC’s operations, the multistakeholder nature of AFRINIC must be preserved. To restore trust among all stakeholders, we must collectively support a swift, transparent, and fair election in accordance with AFRINICs bylaws that enables full participation of members from across the continent. This will enable AFRINIC to resume its operations and its critical role in Africa’s Internet’s infrastructure.
The Internet Society has been supportive of AFRINIC from its inception back in 2005 to today. We and our many chapters across Africa will continue to support AFRINIC and will work with all stakeholders to rebuild a strong community-based AFRINIC that can serve the region for decades to come.