African ICT ministers held an emergency virtual meeting on July 28 to discuss the collapse of the Africa Network Information Centre (AfriNIC), the body that manages internet protocol addresses for the continent. The crisis follows years of legal battles with Cloud Innovation, a Seychelles-based company that has filed more than 50 lawsuits against AfriNIC.
AfriNIC is under receivership and faces institutional breakdown, raising fears that Africa could lose control of critical digital infrastructure. It is one of five regional internet registries worldwide and oversees allocation of IPv4 addresses across Africa.
The dispute dates back to 2013–2016, when AfriNIC allocated about 6 million IPv4 addresses to Cloud Innovation to support VPN services. In 2021, AfriNIC terminated the company’s membership, accusing it of reselling addresses outside Africa, making unauthorized sub-allocations, and refusing audits. Cloud Innovation retaliated with lawsuits in Mauritius and Seychelles, draining AfriNIC financially. The non-profit relies on fees from African network operators to survive.
IPv4 remains vital for Africa. The continent is the only region with addresses still available, representing five percent of the global pool. Thelma Quaye of Smart Africa said IPv4 is “very robust” and costly to replace, even as IPv6 exists.
Experts also warn of security risks. If Africa’s IP blocks are controlled elsewhere, they could be used in cybercrimes that appear to originate from Africa, complicating law enforcement. “If you resell IPs meant for Africa to China, we’ll be tracing them in Africa but they are somewhere else,” Quaye explained.
Ministers urged the AfriNIC receiver to hold fair board elections before September 30 and called for wider stakeholder talks. They see elections as key to reviving AfriNIC and keeping Africa’s internet resources under African control.
