The event, held last week in Lagos at the Muson Center Onikan recognized excellence and innovation in various categories, across private, government, individual.

The 7th .ng Awards, themed “The Innovators of 2024” aimed to recognize digital innovation being done on the .ng domain across various sector, banking, Agritech, at the state-level, in the media space among others.”

.NG awards platform not only recognizes excellence but also actively promotes the .ng brand, contributing significantly to the growth of Nigeria’s internet space.

Techeconomy received presidential award at the 7th .NG awards as Best Supportive Media Partner 2024.

The award night opened with the General Category which Nibox Payment, won Company of the Year—the biggest award of the night.

FairMoney, Lagos State, Galaxy Backbone, University of Nigeria, The Guardian and others were winners on the night.

The two-day event, which commenced with the Tech Convergence 1.0 conference, featured insightful discussions on emerging technologies, digital trends, and the role of the .ng domain in shaping Nigeria’s digital future.

Industry leaders, policymakers, and tech enthusiasts gathered to explore opportunities and challenges in the digital space.

It also comes with a fireside chat by the Commissioner of Innovation, Science and Technology, Lagos State, Olatunbosun Alake on “Shaping Tomorrow: The Role of State-Level Collaboration in Building a Tech-Driven Future”.

He emphasized the crucial role of public-private partnerships in driving digital growth. He specifically highlighted Lagos State’s efforts in leveraging technology for the benefit of its citizens, and also cited how government is funding innovative ideas of the youth in Lagos

Meanwhile, the 7th .ng Awards ceremony was a grand affair, recognizing the contributions of numerous organizations and individuals.

Other notable winners include FairMoney: .ng Fintech Company of the Year; Lagos State: Digital Innovation in State Government; National Identity Management Commission NIMC, which won Digital Innovation in Federal Government: Digital Innovation in Federal Government and Jumia Nigeria: Best E-Commerce Website/Portal.

Among the notable recipients of the prestigious NiRA Presidential Award were GO54, recognized as the Best ccTLD Registrar for their exceptional service and contribution to the .ng domain; National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), honoured as the Most Supportive Partner for their unwavering support of Nigeria’s digital ecosystem; Mrs. Eyitayo Iyortim, President AfTLD for her contributions to the internet space and Gbenga Sesan of Paradigm Initiative, awarded for his tireless advocacy and commitment to child protection online.

Special recognition awards were also presented to organizations and individuals for their contributions to Nigeria’s internet space, including Engr. Ikechukwu Nnamani of Digital Realty, Mrs. Ibukun Odusote, Chairperson of the NiRA Board of Trustees, and the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN), among others.

The awards ceremony not only celebrated past achievements but also inspired future innovation. By recognizing excellence and fostering collaboration, NiRA continues to drive the growth of Nigeria’s digital economy.

A message on AfTLD’s website confirmed the appointment, by the Organisation Executive Committee, of Mrs Iyortim from Nigeria (.NG) as the Chairperson of the Executive Committee and President of the Organization.

She will be deputized by Prof Idrissa Sarr, vice president and the manager of the .SN ccTLD.

Mr Joel Karubiu from Kenya (.KE) continues as the Treasurer.

The newly elected Executive Committee members are Mr. Molehe Wesi, Chief Executive Officer .ZA Domain Name Authority (.ZA) and Deo Gratias Tonouhewa Manager JenySAS operator (.BJ).

Other members of the Executive Committee include Ms. Grace Ingabire, Chief Executive Officer of Rwanda Information and Communications Technology Alliance (.RW), and Mr. Molupe Molupe, Manager of Lesotho Network Information Centre (.LS)

Who is Eyitayo Iyortim?

Eyitayo Iyortim is the immediate past chief operating officer of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA).

He has a Masters in Organisational Psychology from the University of Manchester, UK.

Eyitayo has over 20 years’ experience in Project Management, Training solutions, Talent Management Solutions,  Organisational Transformation, Culture re-enginerring, IT Sales and Services.

She has worked for local and global brands which includes SAP, Focus on the Family, Nigeria Internet Registration Association to mention a few.

She also consults on ERP, Digitalisation and HR projects.

Eyitayo has worked in project teams for many top-tier organisations in Nigeria including NNPC, FIRS, Dangote, UAC, NLNG.

She is a member of the British psychological Society with CPDs in Employee Management, Relationships at Work and Assesment Centre Management.

She is also certified in Ability and Personality testing, Project Management and Life Coaching.

AFTLD

AfTLD is recognized as the representative of country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) managers from Africa.

It is an active participant in the ICANN ccNSO, and also actively participates in various Internet governance fora with the African continent and beyond, including the IGF, where it has run a number of workshops.

With collaboration in Internet governance and development a cornerstone of the bottom up policy development processes that make the Internet truly a multi-stakeholder phenomenon, AfTLD works in collaboration and partnership with other Regional Top-Level Domain Organizations (RTLDOs), these being APTLD, CENTR and LACTLD.  

They were elected on Friday April 28, 2023, during NiRA’s 15^th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at “The Zone”, Gbagada, Lagos State.

Prior to his election, Mr. Akinsanya was a member of the Executive Board of NiRA under the leadership of Mr. Muhammed Rudman, the immediate past president (IPP).

Members also elected officials to fill vacant positions on the Board of Trustees (BoT) and the Executive Board of Directors (EBoD).

Elected to NiRA BoT are Mrs. Mary Uduma; Mr. Yunusa Zakari Ya’u; Mrs. Ibukun Odusote; Mr. Remmy Nweke, and Mr. Biyi Oladipo.

While Mr. Ebenezer Dare; Mr. Seun Kehinde; and Mr. Peter Oluka were elected as members of the EBoD.

In his acceptance speech, Mr. Adesola Akinsanya, expressed gratitude and immense appreciation to the members for electing him as president. 

“This is a call to greater service, and I promise to justify the confidence reposed in me” he affirmed.

Akinsanya, a Director at Upperlink Limited, had expressed in his manifesto, that he would employ winning formula: people, processes, performance, and accountability, to continue repositioning NiRA for greater success.

He focused on a few key areas such as improved Registry-Registrar relationship, stating his strong belief that “the relationship between the Registry and Registrar can be deepened thereby making it a win-win situation”, and promising improved incentives for Registrars which, according to the new president, would lead to mutual growth.

He also promised to expand NiRA’s outreach with more engagements with Local and international industry players: “As your president, I pledge to push for more of NiRA’s engagements within the local and international ecosystem and other industry partners. This is very important because it fosters the bond with such players thereby giving NiRA more exposure to the internet communities. Also, collaboration with government and regulatory bodies, would facilitate policy development thereby leading to increased adoption of .ng domains. Industry partners include ICANN, AFRINIC, IGF, AFTLD, etc.

The President also promised increased capacity building for NiRA members, non-members, and Registrars through NiRA’s Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV). “I will make sure we fully utilize NiRA’s SPVs (.NG Academy and Ndukwe Kalu Foundation) for the purpose of capacity building/ training for NiRA members and the Registrars by providing scheduled webinars on relevant industry topics.

With regards to Brand Awareness and Collaboration, he stated that he would

“push for more NiRA brand awareness by collaborating with the Registrars”. Other areas of focus include the signing of the .ng ccTLD zones, and strategic stakeholder management.

Akinsanya craved for the support of members to make NiRA a success story for the entire continent and beyond.

NiRA is a Not-for-Profit, Non-Governmental Self-Regulating body and managers of the .ng national resource, the country code Top Level Domain(ccTLD) name space in the public interest of Nigeria and global internet communities.

NiRA adopts the 3R (Registry/Registrar/Registrant) model of operation in the registration of domain names. 

The implication of this is that NIRA does not handle the registration of domain names directly.  Registration can only be carried out through NIRA accredited Registrars.

NiRA currently has over 100 Certified Registrars.  For more information, visit: www.nira.org.ng and to register a .ng domain, please visit www.register.ng.