Africa’s Internet boss faces collapse

What It Means for Zimbabweans

ZimNow Africa Desk

If you WhatsApped, streamed, Googled, emailed, or banked online today, there’s an invisible African body behind the scenes making that connection possible—and it’s in big trouble.

Meet AFRINIC—Africa’s Internet Address Registry

This is the organization responsible for distributing and managing IP addresses across the African continent and parts of the Indian Ocean. These IP addresses are what give every website, device, and app its unique “location” on the internet.

But AFRINIC is now teetering on the edge of liquidation—the corporate version of “switching off the lights and locking the door.” And if it collapses, Africa’s internet stability, including in Zimbabwe, could suffer serious blowback.

How Did We Get Here?

At the heart of the drama is a nasty legal and governance war between AFRINIC and Cloud Innovation, a Seychelles-registered company accused of hoarding and reselling IP addresses for profit—kind of like buying land and renting it out at steep prices.

After years of court battles, Cloud Innovation is now pushing for AFRINIC to be liquidated through the Mauritius Supreme Court (AFRINIC is headquartered in Mauritius). That’s like trying to shut down the entire African post office over a feud with one bulk-mail customer.

Meanwhile, AFRINIC’s board has collapsed, its CEO has vanished, and internal elections have been frozen by court orders. With no functioning leadership or oversight, the organization can’t even carry out its core duties—like issuing new IP addresses or maintaining the continent’s internet health.

What Does This Mean for Zimbabwe?

While this might seem like far-off tech drama, Zimbabwe is in the firing line too.

• No New IPs: Local internet providers may soon struggle to access fresh IP addresses, slowing expansion of mobile networks, fiber rollout, and new online services.

• More Expensive Internet: With a broken supply of IP addresses, Zimbabwean providers may be forced to buy them on the open market—often in US dollars—and pass the cost to you. That means higher data prices or worse service.

• Security Risks: Without a functioning registry, tracking or blocking criminal internet activity becomes harder—opening the door for cybercrime, scams, and online fraud.

• Digital Deadlock: If Africa’s internet registry collapses, critical infrastructure like banking systems, government services, online health records, and even e-learning platforms could be disrupted.

This is more than just a tech squabble. It’s about internet sovereignty and Africa—including Zimbabwe—losing control of its own digital future.

If AFRINIC is shut down, a non-African entity like ICANN (the global internet coordinator) could step in, redistributing Africa’s internet resources—possibly without considering local realities or access needs. That would be like letting outsiders run our water or power systems.

What Can Be Done?

Zimbabwe’s government, tech regulators, and internet service providers (ISPs) must act fast and:

• Push for resolution: Through regional bodies like the African Union or SADC, we need collective pressure to restore stability at AFRINIC.

• Develop local resilience: Strengthen Zimbabwe’s internet exchange points (IXPs) and local digital infrastructure so we’re less exposed to regional shocks.

• Plan for redundancy: Encourage innovation in community networks and alternative connectivity models that don’t rely on centralized IP allocation.

As Zimbabwe pushes for digital transformation—from e-government and fintech to online education—we can’t afford a weak or broken internet backbone. The fight over AFRINIC isn’t just a corporate meltdown; it’s a continental crisis with everyday consequences.

Whether you’re sending EcoCash, bingeing Netflix, or applying for a passport online—your connection depends on decisions being made in a courtroom thousands of kilometers away. And right now, those decisions aren’t going our way.