In recognition of the invaluable potential of Research and Education Institutions in the African region, and to further Internet development processes, the the AAU and AfriNIC have signed a MoU to support the membership cost for registration of eligible institutions with AfriNIC. In this agreement, the AAU will pay the setup and first year membership fees for eligible African Academic institutions, and RENs which request for LIR or EU end user membership under AfriNIC’s special discount schemes, and up to a maximum of US$5,000. These members will then have to make provision for subsequent annual membership.

This incentive builds on the already existing and permanent benefit that AAU members, and other African educational and research institutions enjoy, which is a 50% discount in their annual membership fees. For more details of that existing benefit please see
http://www.afrinic.net/news/AAU_discounted_fees.htm.

Eligibility

Eligibility and access to the AAU fund is via a direct application to the AAU. All applications to access this grant therefore need to be submitted to renu[at]aau.org , upon whose sole discretion funding, may or may not be approved. AfriNIC will act exclusively on instructions from the AAU regarding the acceptance of applicants to this fund.

Should the AAU funding be approved for an applying institution, the AAU will directly inform AfriNIC and the applicant of its approval and the applicant should then begin the formal AfriNIC membership registration process. Should the AAU funding not be approved, the applicant can still apply for an AfriNIC membership on the understanding that the applicant would be liable for the appropriate membership fees with eligibility for the regular 50% discount for Academic and Research Institutions already mentioned above.

Registration Process

Applicants are advised to familiarise themselves with AfriNIC's membership criteria (http://www.afrinic.net/rs/eligibility.htm) before pursuing AAU funding to ensure that they meet AfriNIC's membership requirements. Approval for the AAU fund does not guarantee automatic AfriNIC membership status. AfriNIC's normal membership registration, and requirements evaluation process will still apply.

Benefits of AfriNIC Membership

AfriNIC members have access to AfriNIC member services, which include: direct allocation/assignment of Internet number resources; LIR training courses (which teach our members on how to interact with our whois database; IPv6 hands-on training; DNSSEC modules (which will soon be added to the curriculum); and use of MyAfriNIC.

Billing Process

AfriNIC’s normal billing process also applies to members participating in the AAU Program and is available at: http://www.afrinic.net/docs/billing/afadm-bil200404-001.htm. The only difference in the context of the applicants that have qualified for the AAU fund, is that for your first year of membership, you will receive an invoice that will have a balance of zero dollars (US$ 0) because of the compensation received from both the AAU Program and the 50% membership discount incentive. For the next period of invoicing you will receive a normal invoice corresponding to your membership category.

For further information please contact renu[at]aau.org and/or contact[at]afrinic.net.