On Wednesday, 10th of April 2019, NiRA through its Special Purpose Vehicle, NIRA Academy, organized the 1st .ng Resellers Entrepreneurship Programme (REP) for 2019 at NIRA Office Complex, 8 Funsho Williams Avenue, Surulere Lagos. This programme has been on since 2016. The Resellers Programme is aimed at developing and training entrepreneurs & aspiring entrepreneurs in the Domain Name Industry. The training also provides insights into the vast opportunities that exist within the Industry. Participants are encouraged to network with professionals within the Industry and as such, we also had representatives from two NiRA Accredited Registrars (Trefoil Networks Limited and Upperlink Limited) facilitating at the event.
For the first session on “Introduction to .ng Reseller Entrepreneurship Programme”, the Executive Secretary (ES) of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), Mrs. Edith Udeagu, encouraged participants to participate actively in the training; highlighting that the program gives the resellers the opportunity to comfortably run the .ng business from their homes and through their mobile devices. She pointed out that the objective of the training was to enlighten people on how to make extra income or use the domain business as a main source of income.
She further stated that all successful entrepreneurs provide value or solve a societal problem. She advised participants to stop missing opportunities and embrace the opportunities associated with becoming a .ng Reseller. Mention was made on the traits of successful entrepreneurs to include: passion, commitment, research, personal belief, innovation and hard work. She advised that to be successful in the business, Resellers must be persistent and never take “NO” for an answer.
The participants were informed that NiRA adopted the 3-R model (Registry/Registrar/Registrant model) of operation in the operation and management of the .ng ccTLD (country code Top Level Domain). The implication of this is that NiRA does not handle the registration of domain names directly. Registrations can only be done through the platform of NIRA accredited registrars. These Registrars are accredited by NiRA to facilitate the registration, transfer, renewal, and modification of registration data for customers that apply for .ng domain names. The Registrant on the other hand is the person or entity who registers a domain name. The Resellers are not included in NiRA’s model, but they are recognized and acknowledged as closer to the public, who have direct access to potential registrants.
The participants were enlightened on the Domain Name System (DNS) and Management, opportunities in .ng domain name, Domain name registration and NiRA Policies.
Two NIRA Accredited Registrars (Trefoil Networks Limited and Upperlink Limited) made presentations in relation to their Reseller platforms and Hosting services. The representative from Trefoil Networks Limited said that there are benefits attached to using a .ng domain for their business. The .ng is a leverage for good ranking on search engine result pages and allows you to target specific areas of the country. He said using a ccTLD like .ng gives you a higher SEO value for country-based search results and allows you to bring out your creativity.
The representative from Upperlink Limited explained that the Reseller business is an alternative to selling domains while avoiding the demands of becoming a Registrar. She said that a domain reseller has a registered account with Upperlink that offers domain name registration services. The individual must have a WHMCS (Web Host Manager Complete Solution) platform and the technical skill to do the business. Domain resellers for Upperlink are connected to their system via API (Application Programming Interface) in order to process registration and renewals.
At the end of the programme, certificates of attendance were presented to the participants and .ng souvenirs were given to the three most resourceful participants.