The 4th Kenya Second Level Domain Auction 2023
2023-10-02 08:00 - 2023-11-02 17:00 (Africa/Nairobi) | ONLINE, Kenya
KeNIC wishes to run a Second Level Domains auction from 02 October 2023 to 3rd November 2023. This will be the fourth auction having done the first one in 2017, 2021, and 2022.
Objectives:

Increase uptake of .KE name space in the internet ecosystem.
Increase .KE brand visibility by allowing bidders from across the world to acquire their preferred names.
Generate revenue to fund projects like new product development, and building initiatives, improve our technical infrastructure, and fund CSR activities.
Increase offering of .KE name space.

DOMAINS TO BE AUCTIONED:
A total of 719 names will be auctioned this time which are premium names with high demand compared to third-level domains. The reserve prices are as follows:

Category
Domains

Platinum Domains
93 Domains

Gold Domains
68 Domains

BUY NOW Domains
558 Domains

The criteria used to determine the selection of domains for the Platinum, Gold, and Buy Now category was advised by the trend from the last Auction where 2 letter domains were in higher demand than other domains.
There will not be any other new names added to the list that are not reserved. For a name that is not reserved, it means it is available for registration and if it was that premium, it could have already been registered.

The auction platform will have two (2) selling options: – The Buy Now or Bid Option.
Buy Now Option:

Domains from the reserved Premium names will be sold under this category without bids.
The buying price is inclusive of the registration price and is payable immediately.
After payment, the client will be advised to choose their preferred KeNIC Accredited Registrar from the list of Registrars provided on the platform. The domain will then be transferred to the Registrar who will provide additional services like webhosting etc.
Domains will be sold on a first-come first serve basis.

Bid Option:

The bidding price is different from the domain Registration price, after winning a bid, the winner will then select a Registrar and pay the normal SLD Registration Price
The winner will be notified via email and must pay for the domain within 7 working days after the Auction is closed. Failure to which, the domain will be awarded to the second highest bidder who also must pay within 7 working days.
Winners must show proof that they have initiated the payment process within 72 hours of being declared winners.

Click to view the .KE domain names to be auctioned here; KeNIC Auction Platform
Get ready to seize the ultimate chance to claim your dream .KE domain name!
📅 Save the date: October 2nd – November 3rd.

KeNIC Webinar: Navigating the .KE Domain Landscape
2023-10-03 10:00 - 11:30
Join us for an engaging and informative webinar titled “Navigating the .KE Domain Landscape: Addressing Emerging Issues and Ensuring Best Practices.” The digital world is constantly evolving, and the importance of domain names, especially the .KE domain extension, cannot be underestimated in Kenya’s online community.
Webinar objectives

To identify and analyze the emerging issues in .KE Domain Disputes.
To provide insights into the legal and practical aspects of addressing domain disputes.
To present effective strategies and best practices to prevent domain-related issues
To educate you on domain dispute resolution mechanisms and their applicability

Topics to be addressed:

‘.KE Domain Registration, management, and the. role of Kenya Cybersecurity and Forensics Association to Kenyan Individuals or businesses.
Domain dispute resolutions and handling of fraud as the domain registry of Kenya.
Copyright Infringement in Domain Names, digital content, and copyright protection
Exploring the practical cybersecurity strategies for businesses and individuals
Future of domains and the role of AfTLD in shaping the domain industry in Africa.

Our expert panel includes
1. Barrack Otieno – General Manager, Africa Top-Level Domain Association (AFTLD)
2. Sharon Wata – Deputy Executive Director, @kenyacopyrightboard
3. Fredrick Wahome – Vice Chair (Kenya Cyber Security & Forensics Association (KCSFA)
4. Beth Njau, Data Protection and Privacy Office, KeNIC

The discussion will be moderated by Judy Ngure, Cybersecurity Consultant.

Kenya Domain Name System (DNS) Forum 2023
2023-11-01 - 2023-11-02
Click to watch recorded video: KeNIC Youtube (Day 1 and Day 2)
Click to Read The November Issue of KeNIC newsletter in recap of the #KenyaDNSForum2023
Click to view Kenya DNS official website: https://dnsforum.ke/

The Kenya Domain Name System Forum is an annual open event for stakeholders in the Domain Name Industry in East Africa and beyond organized by Kenya Network Information Centre (KeNIC). The first Kenya DNS forum was held in 2021- a virtual event. In 2022, this annual event was themed ‘Cybersecurity’ and saw over 200 local, regional, and international delegates attend a hugely successful forum. Partners included the Communications Authority of Kenya, Huawei, Liquid Technologies, Africa Data Centers, PAIX, and KENET among others. The event was held at Emara Sereni on 4 – 6 October 2022.
The Kenya Domain Name System Forum aims to help the Kenya Registry to grow at a competitive rate and ensure that Kenya is on par with the rest of the world’s Registries. This event will offer opportunities to network with other stakeholders and industry experts and discuss business, technical, and policy aspects of the approaches to establishing and expanding online presence.
This year’s event will be held on 1 – 2 November 2023 with the “Navigating The Future of Cybersecurity & Unleashing The Power of Domains”.
Key Topics to Be Addressed at The Kenya DNS 2023 Will Include:

Influencing Governmental Policy on Internet Penetration in East & Rest of Africa
Evaluating the risks and opportunities facing the Domain Naming Ecosystem
Positioning Kenya and the region for growth
Monetizing your online presence
Data privacy and protection
Strengthening collaboration among stakeholders in the domain name ecosystem in Africa
Children’s right
Copyrights/Trademarks

Expected Outcomes

Provide a launch pad for new developments in the Domain Name Ecosystem in Africa and Globally.
Identify strategic action points that will be key to the growth of the domain name ecosystem in Africa
Promote the 3R Model for wider adoption and uptake in the region and Africa-wide.
Strengthening stakeholder engagement in the Africa Domain Name ecosystem
Build awareness and define strategies to tackle issues impeding the growth of the Africa Domain Name ecosystem

Speakers

Welcoming remarks – KeNIC CEO:
Mr. Andrew Lewela Mwanyota
Key Note Speaker
Andy Chadwick, Head of Africa Cyber Network @ Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office
– Future of Cybersecurity

Welcoming remarks – EX. KeNIC Chairman:
Mr. Geoffrey Shimanyula
– Highlighting Successes of the last 5 Years
Presentation from AFTLD
Barrack Otieno – Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Dot Africa

New KeNIC Chairman
Mr. Paul Kariuki
– Introduction of KeNIC Board Members
– Agenda 2024 – 26 Outlook
Presentation from ICANN
Bob Ochieng – Snr. Director: ngTLD Program
June Okal – Senior Manager, Stakeholder Engagement, Africa

ICANN presentation on Coalition for Digital Africa
Panel Discussion: Education and Domain
– Grace Githaiga – CEO/Convenor of the Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet)
– Eng. Alphonce Odhiambo – President, the Internet Society of Kenya
– Winnie Rachael – Country Manager, UNICAF
– Patricia Kimani Nyanjau – Senior System Administer (KENET)
Moderator – Davis Waithaka, Chief Executive Officer at Elimu Holdings

BREAKOUT SESSION on DNS/DNSEC
– Ahmed Landi – KeNIC Senior Advisor and Technical Manager
Panel Discussion: Government of Kenya (GOK) and Internet Governance Stakeholders
– Lucas Omollo – Chief Manager, ICT & Smart City Solutions, Konza Technopolis Development Authority
– Fiona Asonga – Chief Executive Officer, Technology Service Providers of Kenya – TESPOK
– Thomas Odhiambo – KeNIC Vice-chair & Director, Programmes & Standards

Moderator: Ali Hussein Kassim, CEO, AHK Corp

Panel Discussion 1: Future of Cybersecurity
– Lucas Omollo – Manager, ICT & Smart City Solutions · KOTDA
– Nabihah Rishad – Product and Research Lead, Serianu Limited
Moderator: Patrick Kiniti – CEO of Techmax Solutions
Panel Discussion 4: Unleashing Power of Domains
– Vionna Wairimu- Marketing Manager Sasahost LTD
– Freda Kariba, CEO, Aplin Media
– Davis Waithaka, Chief Executive Officer, Elimu Holdings
Moderator – James Thuruthi – Chief Operating Officer, Frontier Optical Networks (FON)

Panel Discussion 2: Cybersecurity Innovation in Mobile Financial Services
– Nyagitari Bosire – Head, Technology Enterprise Services, Safaricom PLC
– Eric Ngei – Head of Cybersecurity at KCB Group
– Fredrick Wahome: Co-founder of Kenya Cybersecurity and Forensics Association
– Kevin Kanyi – Head of Cyber Threat Intelligence & Threat Hunting, M-KOPA.
Moderator: Rose Kimwatu-Koech – Head of Data Protection, KCB
Panel Discussion 5: Monetizing your Domain
– Moses Kemibaro – CEO, DotSavvy Ltd
– Mbugua Njihia – Venture Builder and Solution Architect

Moderator – Gitau Muraguri, Marketing Manager, KeNIC

KONZA Technopolis Development Authority presentation by:
John Paul Okwiri, Chief Executive Officer

Panel Discussion: Enhancing Collaboration between stakeholders
– Paul Kariuki – KeNIC Chairman
– Eng. Alphonce Odhiambo – President, the Internet Society of Kenya
– Bob Ochieng – Snr. Director: ngTLD Program, ICANN
– Fiona Asonga – Chief Executive Officer, Technology Service Providers of Kenya – TESPOK
– Joel Karubiu, Country Representation/Export Advisor, ENTERPRISE ESTONIA
Moderator: Barrack Otieno – Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Dot Africa Foundation

Panel Discussion 3: Trends in Data Protection and Guidelines for the Future
– Rose Kimwatu-Koech – Head of Data Protection at KCB Bank Kenya
– Josephine Achunga Oyombe – Managing Partner, J. Oyombe Advocates
– William Kimuhu – Data Protection Officer, Mwalimu Sacco
Moderator: John Walubengo, KeNIC ICT Committee & Lecturer, Multimedia University of Kenya

Invitation to Participate in .KE Mobile App Development
2024-04-05 10:00 - 11:00 | ONLINE, Kenya
We are building our .KE mobile app and we want you to be a part of this exciting journey!
During the webinar, we’ll be diving into:
– Our vision for the .KE mobile app
– Key features and functionalities
– Collaborative efforts needed for a successful launch
– Execution Timelines
Let’s work together to elevate .KE in the digital space.
We look forward to your participation!
See you then!

KENYA INTERNET SUMMIT 2024
2024-08-14
KeNIC hosted the Kenya Domain Name System Forum. An annual event that aimed to help the Kenya Registry to grow at a competitive rate and ensure that Kenya is on par with the rest of the world’s Registries. This event offered opportunities to network with other stakeholders and industry experts, discuss business, technical, and policy aspects of the approaches to establish and expand online presence.
In conjunction with the Africa Top Level Domains Organization (AfTLD), the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), and the Internet Society Kenya (ISOC), KeNIC hosted the first-ever virtual Kenya DNS Forum on the 22nd of July 2021 with the theme “Growth of the domain name system in kenya and beyond”. The Forum brought together DNS ecosystem stakeholders to discuss current concerns and ways to help the .KE domain thrive going forward.
In October 4th 2022: KeNIC hosted the second national DNS Forum with the theme “Cybersecurity” and saw over 200 local, regional and international delegates attend a hugely successful forum. Partners included Communication Authority of Kenya, Huawei, Liquid Technologies, Africa Data Centers, Pan African IX Data Centre Kenya (PAIX) and Kenya Education Network (KENET) among others. The event was held at Emara Sereni on 4 – 6 October 2022.
In November 2023: KeNIC hosted the third DNS Forum with the theme “Navigating the future of Cybersecurity and Unleashing the Power of Domains” and saw over 800 local, regional and international delegated both virtually and physically. Partners included Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KOTDA), ICANN, KENET, PAIX and Technology Service Providers of Kenya (TESPOK) among others. The event was held at Tamarind Tree Hotel on 2 – 3 November 2023.
Speakers included for 2023 DNS Forum; https://kenic.or.ke/event/kenya-domain-name-system-dns-forum-2023/
See photos for the 2023 Annual Domain Name System Conference here: https://shorturl.at/nwGN4
Watch the 2023 Annual Domain Name System Conference on YouTube here:https://www.youtube.com/@kenictld7117/streams

August 2024: This year’s annual signature event is scheduled for 14-15 Aug, conconverging public and private stakeholders in the internet sector as well as recognizing the commendable players in the domains-industry. We are in discussions with a leading regional and global business mogul, to grace the 2-Day event as a globally renowned Business Coach, Motivational Speaker and Vision Caster. The target audience will be MSME as well as select gatekeepers across various sectors, that can unlock quantum domains’ uptake.
REGISTER NOW: https://forum.kenic.or.ke

The 8th Annual Registrar Award
2024-08-15
This will be the 8th Annual Awards Ceremony. The Awards ceremony are celebrated each year, and are aimed at:

Recognizing efforts by accredited .KE registrars in growing the .KE brand.
Discuss pertinent issues that impact on the growth of .KE domains numbers
Strengthen our engagement and foster a better working relationship with one of our key partners aimed at increasing domain Registrations and Renewals to meet the 2023 targets.

The 1st Awards Ceremony was held on 11th February 2016 at Sarova Panafric Hotel, Nairobi, while 2nd Awards Ceremony took place on Friday, 23rd February 2018 at Pride INN, Westlands. The 3rd Awards Ceremony was held on 12th April 2019 at Intercontinental Nairobi followed by the 4th KeNIC Registrar Awards Ceremony that was held at Sarova Panafric Hotel, Nairobi on 20th March 2020 in a Hybrid Event.

Due to the pandemic and adherence to the MoH guidelines, the 5th Awards Ceremony was also held in a Hybrid format on Thursday 13, May 2021 Movenpick Hotel Nairobi, the 6th Awards Ceremony was held at Pride INN on March 23rd 2022 and 7th Awards Ceremony on March 23rd 2023 at Movenpick Hotel Nairobi.
To find out more about the past awards https://kenic.or.ke/annual-registrar-awards-categories/

During the 8th Annual Registrar Awards, we will discuss pertinent issues that impact the growth of .KE domains numbers, strengthen our engagement and foster a better working relationship with all our key partners aimed at increasing .KE domain registrations and renewals.
We will also recognize the top 20 Domain Registrars of 2023.
We will also have a loyalty award for the longest Registrants for each .KE domain extension. This category has been added this year.

Kenya's Biggest App-Developer Challenge: Hack-A-Milli Campaign
2025-07-14 08:00 - 2025-09-25 23:30 | Pan Pacific, Westlands Nairobi, Nairobi, Westlands, Kenya
View Fullscreen
The Innovation Engine: Hack-A-Milli
​The Hack-A-Milli campaign is Kenya’s biggest app-development challenge, an intensive sprint to build the next generation of digital solutions for the country. Powered by KeNIC (Kenya Network Information Centre) and MetaCap AI, this initiative called upon the nation’s brightest developers, coders, and innovators to create a cutting-edge .KE mobile application. The core mission was to enhance the accessibility and utility of the .KE domain space, making domain browsing and registration seamless and intuitive for every Kenyan.
​Registration and Submissions
The official challenge period for registration and development ran from July 14th and officially concluded with the submission deadline on August 31st.
​The response from Kenya’s vibrant tech community was overwhelming, underscoring the passion for local digital innovation. Over the course of the challenge period, the campaign saw a total of 461 registrations from individuals and teams across the country. This intense development phase culminated in 50 innovative project submissions by the 31st August, all competing for the massive KES 1,500,000 total prize pool.
​The Rigorous Judging Phase
​Following the submission deadline, a rigorous judging process—which included expert panel and AI evaluations—was carried out. The final evaluations concluded on September 12th. Submitted projects were meticulously assessed based on core criteria, including Innovation, Technical Excellence, User Experience, and Market Potential, ensuring that only the most viable and well-executed applications advanced.
Watch the Judging Process here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HCTQX7eSPY

University and College Represented
The Hack-A-Milli drew a rich mix of universities and academies from across Kenya. See the list below:

Kisii University
Karatina University
Dedan Kimathi University of Technology
Jomo Kenyatta University – JKUAT
Baringo National Polytechnic
KCA University
Kabarak University
Machakos university
Zone01 Kisumu Hub
Technical University of Kenya
Strathmore University
Zetech University
University of Nairobi
Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology
Kibabii University
Multimedia University of Kenya
Mount Kenya University
Kirinyanga University
Daystar University
Embu University
Kenyatta University
Moi University
University of Eldoret
Kiriri Women’s of Science and Technology
St. Paul’s University
Baraton University
Muranga University
Chuka University
Technical University of Kenya
Kenya Highlands University Friends
United States International University
The Open University
Baringo Polytechnic
Garissa University
Africa Nazarene University

​Grand Finale: The Award Ceremony
​The ultimate climax of the campaign was the spectacular inaugural Hack-A-Milli Award Ceremony, held on Thursday, September 25th, at Pan Pacific Serviced Suites Nairobi. The event was a powerful celebration of Kenya’s digital future, recognizing the talent that is poised to drive the country’s domain and tech space forward.
​We are incredibly proud to celebrate the remarkable achievement of our Grand Winner and runners-up:
Grand Winner – Daniel France Makala (Kabianga University)
1st Runners-up – Elijah Kibuchi (Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology)
2nd Runners-up – Seth Makori (Technical University of Mombasa)
3rd Runners-up – Asman Caleb (Kenyatta University) and Sam Arita (Moringa School)
4th Runners-up – Emilio Cliff (Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology)
5th Runners-up – Victoria Gikonyo (Kirinyanga University), Rosemary Njeri (Strathmore University), Ian Okumu (Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology) and Gloria Ngure (Kenyatta University)

Domain Summit Africa 2026
2026-02-23 08:00 - 2026-02-24 18:00
Domain Summits are business-first events for the global domain industry.
KeNIC is proud to announce its role as a co-host of the Domain Summit Africa 2026, taking place 23–24 February 2026 at Villa Rosa Kempinski, Nairobi, Kenya.
The Summit brings together domain name service providers, registrars, registry operators, investors, digital entrepreneurs, and industry leaders from across Africa and globally. Designed as a pure B2B event, it offers a unique platform for networking, knowledge exchange, and strategic partnerships that advance the domain ecosystem and digital infrastructure on the continent.

Register Now: Domain Summit Africa 2026
