Kheweul, Freenom announce partnership to get Africa online

Kheweul and Freenom today announce a joint venture to provide free Web sites with a free domain name to all Africans. Under the new Freenames brand, every African Internet user will be able to obtain a free Web site with a free domain, using a phone, tablet or computer. The venture partners believe providing a free Web presence with a free domain will increase the number of African Web sites significantly and will give African local content quality an enormous boost. This increase in online communication will connect communities and businesses throughout Africa and will create a foundation for further e-development.

All free Web sites will be available with an African free domain. Free domains are very popular on the continent. Countries like Gabon (.GA), Mali (.ML) and Central African Republic (.CF) have already jumped on the bandwagon and made their domain extension available to everyone for free, both in their respective countries and abroad.

The free revolution of the last decade has enabled billions of people to go online and express themselves. Free search, e-mail and social networking have dramatically changed the digital landscape. Free SIM cards have created a new model for the entire telecommunications sector and transformed the ICT landscape in Africa. Now, free Web sites and free domains will enable Africans to increase their Web presence and make the continent a truly indispensable part of the global digital economy.

With a smartphone or computer, users can register a domain name, create or choose a Web site design and change their free Web site to adapt it to their wishes. For this, Freenames will use an innovative Web site builder that works with smartphones, tablets and PCs. This will allow even novice users to obtain an online presence.

"Providing a basic free hosting package with an African free domain makes good business sense," says Mouhamet Diop, Managing Director of Kheweul. "We want to empower all Africans to take an active role online, not only as consumers, but also as content creators and as online business entrepreneurs."

Freenames will encourage all its users to build their free online presence further with additional services, such as script programming, SSL certificates and e-commerce solutions. The income derived from these extra services will pay for the users who continue to use the basic services for free. Freenames expects to convert 1% to 2% of its user base into users requiring paid services.

"The African top-level domains are very popular outside Africa already," says Joost Zuurbier, CEO of Freenom. "We firmly believe that more and more users from the African community will start to use African domains if a free hosting package would be offered."

Freenom has teamed up with three African top-level domain registries, but expects that many more African countries will follow. Thanks to a new innovative business model, free domains generate exposure and revenue for the partner countries, making a real impact locally and abroad.

The Freenames services will be launched during the next ICANN meeting on 24 March 2014 in Singapore. To prepare for the launch and to have a local presence in Africa, Freenom has opened an office in Dakar, Senegal.