U.S. to Boost Africell with $99.6 Million Loan

The Trump administration has revealed that Africell, the sole American-owned telecom firm operating in Africa, will receive a $99.6 million loan from the Export-Import Bank (EXIM). This funding aims to help Africell compete against the prominent Chinese telecommunications company, Huawei.

The loan’s purpose, according to EXIM, is to enhance the telecommunications landscape in Angola and bolster American technological influence internationally by enabling Africell to access the latest mobile phone technology from both American and European sources.

Africell’s CEO, Ziad Dalloul, commented on the company’s rapid growth in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as well as its long-established presence in Sierra Leone and The Gambia. He highlighted how high-quality American technology and investment can truly benefit the African market.

Dalloul expressed satisfaction in partnering with EXIM to provide more reliable communication infrastructures within their operational regions. He emphasized that this initiative not only showcases American technology leadership but also paves the way for future American and allied digital tech to be integrated in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in the Lobito Corridor area.

Shannon Nagy Cazeau, the charge d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy to Angola and Sao Tome and Principe, remarked that the results yielded from collaborations with the U.S. and its companies are impressive. She suggested that this represents a mutual benefit, presenting American technology and a more connected and prosperous Angola.

While there was no explicit mention of China in the statements made, Reuters indicated that the Trump administration is pursuing a “clean network” initiative focused on removing potentially harmful Chinese telecom and networking equipment, notably products from Huawei, from the U.S. and allied countries.

The U.S. government has imposed significant sanctions on Huawei due to accusations of spying on users, which the company denies. However, under Chinese law, all corporations must comply with demands from Chinese Communist intelligence services for user information. Furthermore, Huawei has been linked to human rights violations, particularly concerning the surveillance of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang province.

As of now, Huawei holds around 52% of the 5G mobile data market in Africa, a situation the Trump administration aims to change. Africell, which started its operations in 2001 with a data center in Angola, previously received a $100 million loan in 2018 from what was then the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, now known as the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). The funding helped Africell expand into the DRC, Gambia, and Sierra Leone, and notably, the company repaid the loan three years ahead of schedule.