dotAfrica Brand Ambassador makes her way to summit Mount Kilimanjaro

16 January 2018, Marangu, Tanzania - Singer, songwriter, presenter, public speaker and businesswoman Unathi Nkayi is currently making her way to summit Mount Kilimanjaro as part of the team that is launching the new .africa (dotAfrica) geographic Top Level Domain (gTLD) to the people of Africa.

As one of the Brand Ambassadors for .africa, Unathi is participating in a continental roadshow to publicise the.africa domain that will culminate in a Mount Kilimanjaro summit attempt led by famed mountaineer, Deshun Deysel, later this month.

Speaking about Unathi’s appointment, Registry Africa CEO Lucky Masilela, said: “We love that Unathi is well-travelled and has not confined her globetrotting to the usual places. She’s an African first and foremost, and is as comfortable on the streets on Dar and Dakar, as she is on the streets of Paris and London.”

Unathi used high-intensity interval training to prepare for the summit attempt as fitness trainers agree this is the best way to boost endurance while simultaneously ensuring one is able to handle the short bursts of high impact exertion that will be required on the climb.

Unathi’s impressive career history includes associations with such premier brands as YFM, Metro FM and Idols. “I’m thrilled that the next chapter of my life will include the .africa brand that means so much to the people and continent of Africa. I’ve been told that it has been a long and challenging journey just to get the .africa domain name started so I’m ecstatic to be able to really start moving .africa onwards and upwards.”

As Brand Ambassador, Unathi’s role is to integrate the .africa domain into her daily interactions with the African public, which role she has embraced with much gusto.

“Africans are realising that the narrative of coups, dictatorships and other unpleasant things that came to be associated with our continent for many decades does not have to accompany the African experience as we move further into the 21st century. Africa has, in fact, historically been associated with mysterious and wonderful treasures. Sadly, in the modern age, and after the ravages of colonialism, Africa lost her lustre. Thankfully, the learning that has been brought about by ICT technologies like the Internet has helped us remember that we used to be the bright continent,” she says.

Initiatives like .africa help make the Internet feel like home for Africans. Kilimanjaro, with its peak rising towards the heavens, and all the ‘reaching for the heights’ symbolism, is just the perfect place for the .africa team to aim for on their journey across the continent.

After completing its landmark journey to epitomise the unity of all African States, the .africa flag will be returned to its home, the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa. The .africa flag’s story began when it was officially handed over to the .africa team in the Nelson Mandela Plenary Hall. The Chairman of the AU, H.E. Alpha Condè, handed over the .africa flag to the Chairperson of the AUC, H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat who in turn handed it over to the .africa team, represented by Mr Lucky Masilela. The flag’s story has now become about promoting the use of the .africa domain name in pursuit of African unity, peace and prosperity.

Speaking of the challenge of ‘domaining the undomained’, Unathi said: “We want to see African youth using their creativity to register.africa domain names and then turning these into innovative new digital destinations for business, learning, interaction and entertainment. A medium-term future, where at least one in ten African young people has their own .africa domain name - and is actively using it to better their future - would be a wonderful thing indeed.”

Africans at home and in the diaspora are invited to virtually join the expedition at www.followtheflag.africa .