The U.S. Export-Import Bank announced Friday that it would provide Africell with a $99.6 million loan to finance investments in advanced U.S. and European mobile-network technologies for the company’s operations in Angola, in a move supporting Washington’s efforts to compete with China’s presence in Africa’s digital infrastructure.
Africell said relying on equipment it describes as secure and reliable would help Angola diversify its technology sources, strengthen national control and digital resilience, and protect against cyberattacks and other information-security threats. Founded in 2001, Africell serves about 15 million subscribers in Angola, Gambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sierra Leone.
Africell’s services and U.S. technology-support policy
The company provides voice, data and mobile-payment services, as well as fourth- and fifth-generation network services in sub-Saharan African markets. The loan is part of a broader U.S. policy supporting the use of domestic technology abroad, including artificial intelligence, data centers, cloud services and communications networks.
Its presence extends to earlier generations of networks. Researcher Aubrey Hruby estimated in April 2021 that the company had built about 50% of the continent’s 3G networks and 70% of its 4G networks. The Chinese Embassy in Washington said its country’s investments in Africa had contributed to growth and been welcomed by local populations.
The United States called for supporting the development of other countries rather than pursuing what it described as an agenda aimed at undermining China-Africa cooperation. Africell also linked the financing to U.S. plans to expand its presence in Angola and the surrounding region, particularly the Lobito Corridor. Washington says it intends to invest more than $5 billion in railway and bridge projects linked to the corridor.
Washington’s initiatives to keep Chinese technology out
Efforts to keep Chinese technology out of the networks of the United States and its allies date back to the Clean Network initiative launched by the Donald Trump administration during his first term.
In 2025, Trump issued an executive order requiring U.S. agencies to promote American technology in foreign markets, including communications networks, artificial intelligence, data centers and cloud services.
