A Report of The KENIC Registrar Briefing 2018 And The Lessons Learned
On Friday 23rd February 2018, Legibra attended an event organized by KENIC. The event took place at Pride Inn hotel, Westlands. Although all Kenyan domain registrars were invited to the event, most did not make it. Notable attendees included;
1. Kenic CEO Abdalla Omari
2. ICANN Representative
3. DRAKE Representative
4. ISOC Representative
5. AfTLD Representative
Topics Discussed at KENIC’s Registrar Briefing 2018
KENIC Registrar briefing 2018
- Opening a Reseller Portal for Registrars in Other Counties
Last year before the election, KENIC had recruited and trained several resellers but they were not able to attain the number they were targeting because of the election. They are planning on sending at least one reseller to each registrar. As per their research, most of the registrars are located in Nairobi. It will be wise to allocate the resellers and open a reseller portal for other counties.
2.Recognizing The Best Domain Registrars
KENIC announced that there are 200 active registrars in Kenya. Below are the best registrars in the various categories.
Best Marketing & Awareness
KENIC Registrar briefing 2018- Best Marketing & Awareness 2017
1. kenyaweb.com
2. kenyawebsiteexperts.com
3. deepafrica.com
Best KENIC Supporters
This category was created for registrars who attend KENIC meetings, events and training.
1. kenyaweb.com
2. deepafrica.com
3. peakanddale.com
Best Customer Retention
KENIC Registrar briefing 2018
1. globalinternetfortunes.com
2. truehost.co.ke
3. deepafrica.com
Best Customer Support
KENIC Registrar briefing 2018
1. deepafrica.com
2. webhostkenya.co.ke
3. sasahost.co.ke
KENIC Registrar briefing 2018
1. kenyawebsiteexperts.com (8000 domains)
2. safaricom.co.ke (4000 domains)
3. globalinternetfortunes.com (3000 domains)
3. Introduction of a Monthly Award
From this year onwards, there will be a monthly best registrars recognition. We think this will be a great opportunity to keep track of top performing registrars and improve our services more frequently.
4. Centralized Domain Registration System(CDRS) To Boost .KE domain uptake
A research has been done by KENIC and they came to a conclusion that registrars are not marketing .ke. They have been approached by multiple clients requesting for .ke registration since they do not register domains, they usually tell them to go and look for a registrar. In order to solve this issue, they came up with a CDRS system.
How the CDRS system will work
CDRS system will be integrated with registrar systems using an API. Clients will be registering domains in KENIC website. After they enter the domain name they want to register, they will be provided with a list of all the registrars in Kenya and choose the registrar they want to register with. As per my view, this idea will not give all registrars an equal chance which KENIC claims to achieve. A meeting will be set to discuss this further.
5. Marketing Initiatives in 2018
Registrars were encouraged to focus on the .me.ke project. The best thing about .me.ke is that it can be registered by anyone, young or old. KENIC will create a conference and invite everyone who has .me.ke. Below is a list of influential people who have already registered .me.ke
1. uhurukenyatta.me.ke
2. williamruto.me.ke
3. carolinemutoko.me.ke
READ MORE: Africa’s DNS Market: Challenges and Strategic Considerations for 2018
6. Why .KE Ads Failed
Abdalla Omari KeNIC CEO AMA .ke second level domain
According to most of the registrars, .ke advertisement failed because the registrars were not involved. Most of the clients are familiar with registrars than KENIC itself. The CEO promised the registrars to involve them in their advertisements. They will come up with the best criteria to do so. The .ke was introduced 5 years ago and only 77,590 domains have been registered. The .ke pricing issue was raised and the CEO assured the registrars that they will revisit the pricing with the BOD.
7. Action Against Registrars Who Do Not Support Their Clients
KENIC CEO Abdalla Omari has noticed that some of the registrars do not offer any support to their clients and the clients end up contacting KENIC for support. He announced that an action will be taken to the registrars who do not take care of their customers.
6. Announcements for 2018
i) This year, there will be a technical training on Domain name system (DNS) and Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC). KENIC will communicate the day.
ii) KENIC will launch second level domain (SLD), they will communicate the day.
iii) Africa Top Level Domain Organization (AfTLD) are discussing on which country should have .africa registrar since it is not owned by any country.
iv) Before May 2018, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will come up with new models to deal with EU’s upcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Please click here for more information.
3 Lessons learned at KENIC’s Registrar Briefing 2018
KENIC Registrar briefing 2018
1. It is important to register our own domains, for example .ke, .co.ke, .me.ke, .or.ke.
This will improve our economy rather than registering .com, .org which will boost other countries economy. It is substantial to explain this to the client. Even if they want international TLDs, it will be valuable to advise them to register local TLDs and set them as a parked domain.
2. It is important for Kenyan Registrars to attend all KENIC meetings, training, and events.
This will help us stay updated and help us discover new ways to grow. Also, the events provide a space for registrars to connect with each other and learn from their journeys.
3. KENIC Events Create Opportunity for Selling domains
During the event, we learned that KENIC usually has frequent meetings in different venues where they meet different people. Some of the registrars who attend these meetings have benefited a lot. They have met a lot of people who want domain registration and website design services.
Conclusion
It was both enlightening and motivating to meet and connect with other Kenyan registrars. We congratulate the brands who were the best in the various categories and look forward to working together to push the bar even higher in 2018.