EacDirectory- Interview with Team Leader Marketing at EacDirectory.co.ke

Is there a problem with  Kenic Management structure?  Wanjiku’s take on the problem is here . That a side,  I had a chat with one of the managers of  the leading .Ke domains Registrar EacDirectory.co.ke . Victor Onyango is the Team leader Marketing at EAcDirectory.co.ke:

Kachwanya: Let start with the story of  your Company. What is the story behind  eacdirectory.co.ke/?

Victor :  EACdirectory is an IT firm founded in 2005, 100% Kenyan . Originally started as an Online business directory organization. Model did not work. We had to change tact fast.

We are Google apps Authorized resellers, Kenic accredited registrars, and also a partner with Google on the Getting business online initiative – (kbo.co.ke)

Kachwanya : I understand that EacDirectory  is the biggest Registrar of local .Ke domains names, can you give us the numbers or the stats?

Victor : Indeed, EACdirectory is the largest .ke registrar. We have over 10 % market share in the .ke domain name space
We have been the registrar of the month for 4 months consecutively

Kachwanya: What are some of the competitive advantages that EacDirectory has over the other Registrars?

Victor : -Customer focus
-Full automation of dns, whois . This gives the customers FULL control over nameserver changes, changes on personal contacts, emails e,t,c
-FULL automation for payment using MPESA paybill. Make payment, key in the Transaction code and domain registered instantly. A favourite for Kenyans
-Full automation for payment using Credit Card/Debit. A favourite for the international clients

Kachwanya:  In Your understanding why do Kenyans shy away from registering .co.ke or other local domain extensions?

Victor : When anybody wants a domain name, they want it NOW. They are passionate about their chosen name and cannot give room for someone taking it.
-Time it takes to register domains. Some registrars take more that 24 hours
-Fear of someone grabbing their name of choise.
-No control over their domains (WHOIS, nameserver e.t.c)

Kachwanya: Is the Government doing enough to promote .co.ke domains?

Victor: It should be a policy that all government agencies / institutions / parastatals / local authorities should have a .ke domain. Many government institutions /agencies still use TLD (.com, .org etc) e.g. www.magicagicalkenya.com

– The official travel and tourism guide by the Kenya Tourist Board www.kws.org

-Kenya Wildlife Service www.kenyamuseumsociety.org

– Kenya Museum Society

Members of parliament and even presidential candidates use .com

Kachwanya:  What is the future of the co.ke with light of new changes made by ICCAN , based on the fact that there are going to be other extensions like .Africa  .Nike, may be .Safaricom ?

Victor : The money and technical expertise required to secure the extension and deploy it does not make it attractive for most organizations.

Kachwanya:  What development, event, or new understanding since EacDirectory started that has had the most impact on the original plan?  How has the plan changed in response?

Victor : The development of MPESA has made business easier than ever. This has enabled us to FULLY automate our process and hence reduce our prices. We have consistently charged prices that match Kenic’s rate

Kachwanya:  According to you what would be the key tech trends in Kenya, and Africa in general in the next five to ten years?

Victor-Adoption of Mobile payment as the de-facto payment system
-Conversion of websites into Mobile ready ones

Kennedy Kachwanya1087 Posts

--- Kennedy Kachwanya is a technology blogger interested in mobile phones both smart and dumb, mobile apps, mobile money, social media, startups ecosystem and digital Savannah. New media must not forget the strength of old tech.

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