AFRINIC’s community trust vs. Smart Africa’s political influence

AFRINIC’s community trust vs.

• Cloud Innovation, AFRINIC’s third-biggest member, demands immediate wind-up of the failed registry and appointment of a new RIR.
• ICANN and Smart Africa’s involvement threatens bottom-up internet governance, raising concerns over Africa’s control of its IP resources.

Governance collapse at AFRINIC

AFRINIC, the African Network Information Centre, continues to struggle under years of governance crises. The organisation has repeatedly demonstrated an inability to maintain accountability and fair governance, leaving Africa’s IP resource management, connectivity, and digital infrastructure at risk. Analysts describe the current state as a failed registry with unworkable election standards, signalling an urgent need for reform.

In response, Cloud Innovation Ltd., AFRINIC’s third-biggest member, has launched a formal call to dissolve the registry. The company frames its actions as a necessary reset to secure Africa’s IP resources, demanding that ICANN and the Number Resource Organisation immediately appoint a new regional internet registry. Cloud Innovation also supports ICANN’s potential derecognition of AFRINIC, provided a successor is quickly identified, emphasising the need to restore integrity and continuity in governance.

Also read: Is ICANN dodging the AFRINIC community by supporting Smart Africa’s CAIGA?
Also read: ICANN’s role in AFRINIC elections faces scrutiny, claims of interference

External influence and regional autonomy

Amid AFRINIC’s internal failings, external pressures from Smart Africa and ICANN pose further challenges to bottom-up internet governance in the region. ICANN’s attempts to intervene, including its ICP-2 compliance document, have been characterised as a quiet power grab that bypasses established multistakeholder processes. Critics warn that ICANN’s involvement, along with political influence from Smart Africa, risks undermining Africa’s autonomy over its IP ecosystem.

Observers note that these interventions, combined with AFRINIC’s collapse, place the continent’s internet governance at a critical juncture. The tension between community trust, internal mismanagement, and external pressures underscores the urgent need for decisive action to protect Africa’s digital infrastructure and ensure a transparent, accountable framework for IP resource management.