As the global Internet community prepares to converge in Bali, Indonesia, for the 87th Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN87) Annual General Meeting in October 2026, Africa is set to make a significant statement through a new generation of Internet governance leaders emerging under the auspices of the African Regional At-Large Organisation (AFRALO), reports ITREALMS.Ten African Fellows will represent the continent at ICANN87 in Bali, Indonesia, this October, strengthening Africa's influence in global Internet governance through enhanced policy engagement, technical capacity and multistakeholder collaboration.
Far beyond a list of successful applicants, the selection of Africa's ICANN87 Fellows underscores AFRALO's unwavering commitment to developing technical expertise, strengthening multistakeholder participation, and ensuring that African Internet end-users are meaningfully represented in global Internet policy discussions.
The Fellowship programme remains one of ICANN's foremost capacity-building initiatives, designed to equip emerging leaders with practical knowledge of ICANN's policy development ecosystem, stakeholder engagement processes, Domain Name System (DNS) governance, Universal Acceptance (UA), Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs), and other critical issues shaping the future of the Internet.
For AFRALO, this year's cohort reflects a deliberate investment in nurturing leaders capable of translating knowledge into action within their local Internet communities while advancing Africa's collective interests on the global stage.
Ten distinguished professionals residing in Africa have been selected to participate in ICANN87. They were chosen not only for their professional accomplishments but also for their demonstrated commitment to advancing Internet governance across the continent.
The African contingent for the ICANN87 Fellowship comprises 10 distinguished professionals drawn from across the continent, reflecting the diversity and growing depth of Africa's Internet governance community.
The Fellowship programme remains one of ICANN's foremost capacity-building initiatives, designed to equip emerging leaders with practical knowledge of ICANN's policy development ecosystem, stakeholder engagement processes, Domain Name System (DNS) governance, Universal Acceptance (UA), Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs), and other critical issues shaping the future of the Internet.
For AFRALO, this year's cohort reflects a deliberate investment in nurturing leaders capable of translating knowledge into action within their local Internet communities while advancing Africa's collective interests on the global stage.
Ten distinguished professionals residing in Africa have been selected to participate in ICANN87. They were chosen not only for their professional accomplishments but also for their demonstrated commitment to advancing Internet governance across the continent.
The African contingent for the ICANN87 Fellowship comprises 10 distinguished professionals drawn from across the continent, reflecting the diversity and growing depth of Africa's Internet governance community.
The Fellows include Cliff Agaba Mutegeki and Jovita Joy Kanza from Uganda; Frank Asefuah and Godsway Kubi from Ghana; Modoukpè Solange Oloude from Benin; Sinan Mohamed Agha Mousa from Libya; Eslam Khaled from Egypt; and Afeez Hassan, Nkoro Nkoro, and Remmy Nweke from Nigeria.
Together, they represent West, East and North Africa, bringing diverse expertise and perspectives that will enrich Africa's contribution to global Internet governance discussions at ICANN87 in Bali, Indonesia.
Their emergence represents another important milestone in AFRALO's 2026–2030 Strategic Plan, which prioritises sustainable capacity development, measurable end-user participation, leadership succession, and stronger regional engagement within ICANN's multistakeholder model.
An analysis of the Fellowship cohort demonstrates balanced continental representation, highlighting the growing maturity of Africa's Internet governance ecosystem.
West Africa accounts for 60 per cent of the African Fellows, with six representatives from Nigeria, Ghana, and Benin.
The strong showing reflects years of sustained investment in community outreach, mentorship, policy awareness, and capacity-building initiatives across the sub-region. It also signals an increasingly competitive environment in which African Internet professionals are demonstrating higher levels of technical competence and policy engagement.
East Africa contributes 20 per cent of the cohort through two Fellows from Uganda.
Their participation reinforces the region's growing engagement in discussions around DNS security, digital inclusion, local content development, and Internet resilience.
North Africa completes the continental spread with Fellows from Egypt and Libya, representing another 20 per cent of the cohort.
Their inclusion strengthens Africa's contributions on multilingual Internet access, Universal Acceptance, Internationalized Domain Names, and policy issues affecting both Africa and the broader Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
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For AFRALO, the Fellowship programme extends far beyond attending an international meeting.
It represents an opportunity to cultivate future mentors, policy advocates, technical contributors, and community leaders capable of strengthening Africa's participation in Internet governance long after ICANN87 concludes.
The immersive Fellowship experience exposes participants to ICANN's complex policy development processes, consensus-building mechanisms, technical briefings, leadership engagements, and cross-community collaboration; experiences that cannot be fully replicated through webinars or virtual training programmes.
The real measure of success therefore lies not in selection alone but in how effectively Fellows apply their knowledge to strengthen Internet governance within their respective countries and across the African continent.
AFRALO is already working towards ensuring that the ICANN87 Fellows become active contributors to policy development working groups, outreach initiatives, capacity-building programmes, and regional advocacy efforts.
Their exposure to ICANN's procedural framework, policy development processes, objections mechanisms, Universal Acceptance initiatives, and stakeholder engagement is expected to enrich Africa's contributions within the global Internet governance ecosystem.
Among the selected Fellows is Remmy Nweke, who is expected to contribute to strengthening collaboration between technical communities, civil society, academia, government, and Internet end-users while supporting AFRALO's broader objective of expanding informed African participation within ICANN.
As delegates prepare for ICANN87 in October, expectations are high that Africa's new Fellows will leverage the opportunity to deepen their technical knowledge, forge strategic partnerships, and return home better equipped to champion Internet governance initiatives across the continent.
Their participation reflects AFRALO's enduring vision of building a knowledgeable, inclusive, and technically competent community capable of shaping policies that promote an open, secure, stable, and globally interoperable Internet.
The emergence of the ICANN87 African Fellows is therefore not merely the outcome of a competitive selection process; it marks the beginning of another chapter in Africa's growing influence within the global Internet governance landscape.
For AFRALO, Bali represents more than a destination; it is another strategic step towards empowering the next generation of African Internet leaders whose voices will increasingly help shape the future of the global Internet.
By Remmy Nweke/DoP
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