DCA is a not-for-profit corporation that was formed with a charitable mission and objective to advance education in information technology in the African society and, in connection with that objective, to benefit the general African public access to Internet services and to apply, and to operate a continental domain name “.AFRICA” new gTLD registry.
DotConnectAfrica Group makes up an integrative model of various Internet-centered digital products and services encompassing Domain Registry services, that handles Internet TLD registry and DNS businesses; new media and multimedia services as well as mobile applications along with an integrated digital social media platforms and an education platform under DCA Academy, that is managed by the organization.
DotConnectAfrica through its affiliate DCA Registry Services Ltd.intends to channel surplus resources gained from the .Africa registry operation to sponsor foundations that will cater to various charitable projects including the already launched miss.africa and generation.africa, as well as capacity building for African ccTLDs, with the general objective of improving the African Internet and business landscape.
DotConnectAfrica Group encourages all stakeholders to participate in this dialog, in particular the African Diaspora.
Vision
The Vision of DCA.is to realize that DotAfrica (.africa) domain name will be useful for branding of products and services to the enormous benefit of organizations and individuals that have an enduring stake in Africa thereby providing a very unique African on-line identity.
DCA also seeks to assist in the strategic coordination of government internet policies, establish policy priorities, offer new policy choices, and ensure that the implications of internet policy options are fully considered. DCA encourages all stakeholders to participate in this dialogue, in particular the African Diaspora.
Mission
As an independent non-profit, DCA Trust intends to utilize surplus proceeds from the registry operation accruing to the Trust Fund for charitable projects. Funds will be regularly allocated to different corporate social responsibility programmes. Specific projects will be identified, and supported. As the first gTLD for Africa, it will aim at bridging the digital divide that exists between other regions of the Internet community and Africa by promoting the use of ICT for development. Therefore, DCA intends to focus on development projects that will aid the increased use and penetration of the Internet in Africa, including provision of low-cost⁄affordable computers, Internet bandwidth, and user training for disadvantaged groups, target local communities and focus groups in Africa.
Objective
DCA is to establish a full-service Internet registry which will be operated by DCA Registry Services Ltd. in accordance with the technical and operational criteria and other specifications stipulated by ICANN in the new gTLD Applicants’ Guidebook. The objective of setting up DCA Registry Services Limited is to run a viable business as a registry operator, providing approved and additional registry services with guaranteed business and registry continuity for its valued customers.
The surpluses from the registry operation will accrue to the DCA Trust Fund and used to finance and support various charitable projects for the benefit of different stakeholders. DCA main charitable objects are: (a) for the advancement of education in information technology to the African society; and (b) in connection with (a) to provide the African society with a continental Internet domain name to have access to Internet services for the people of Africa as a purpose beneficial to the public in general.
