Following a proposal for setting up an Internet registry for Africa by several early Internet adopters in Africa, during an INET workshop in Malaysia (1997), a steering committee was set up to work on AFRINIC's structure and business plan.
The idea behind the initiative was to adopt the allocation policies applied by the already established RIRs (RIPE NCC and APNIC) to Africa’s realities. In 2000 this proposal resulted in a consensus on the setup of AfNOG (the African Network Operators group).
Moreover, the first AFRINIC observers were appointed to the Address Supporting Organization Address Council (ASO AC) during the same year. In 2001, the steering committee recommended the appointment of an initial Board of Trustees based on sub-regional representation. Dr Nii Quaynor chaired the first AFRINIC Board with the mission to formalise the organisation and work towards its accreditation as a Regional Internet Registry (RIR).
In 2004, after a selection of potential host countries, AFRINIC was incorporated in Mauritius. It was decided that the Board would consist of elected representatives from the six identified sub-regions in Africa (Northern, Western, Central, Eastern, Indian Ocean and Southern).
AFRINIC was registered in Mauritius with its operations dispersed in South Africa (Technical operations), Egypt (Backup and disaster recovery) and Ghana (Training coordination)
In April 2005, ICANN accredited AFRINIC as the fifth Regional Internet Registry according to criteria defined in its ICP-2 document (criteria for the establishment of regional Internet registries).