US approves $99.6 million loan for Africell network investment in Angola

US President Donald Trump’s administration has approved a $99.6 million loan to US owned telecom operator Africell to finance network investment in Angola, according to the Associated Press. The financing, provided through the US Export-Import Bank (EXIM), will support purchases of US and European telecommunications equipment as Washington seeks to expand the use of US and allied technology in African networks. At the time of reporting, EXIM had not published an official announcement of the loan.

Reuters first reported the planned financing on 11 September, citing a person familiar with the matter and a draft press release it had reviewed. According to the draft, the loan would enable Africell to invest in mobile network technology from US and allied suppliers. Reuters also reported that Huawei accounts for an estimated 52% of Africa’s 5G infrastructure market.

Africell is the only US owned mainstream mobile network operator in Africa and serves around 15 million subscribers across Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia. The company has previously used equipment from suppliers including Nokia, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Dell, and Oracle.

Africell founder and CEO Ziad Dalloul said the company was pleased to work with EXIM to introduce what he described as more ‘trusted and secure communications infrastructure’ in its operating markets, according to the draft announcement reviewed by Reuters. The statement has not yet been published separately by EXIM or Africell.

The financing builds on earlier US government support for Africell. In May 2019, Africell and the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), then known as the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), agreed a $100 million loan facility. The financing supported the company’s networks in the Democratic Republic of Congo, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Uganda; the DFC describes the project as supporting network expansion and upgrades in those four markets. Africell announced in September 2026 that it had repaid the remaining balance three years ahead of schedule.

The new loan also fits within the Trump administration’s broader policy of promoting US technology overseas. A July 2025 executive order directed federal agencies to support exports of US AI technology packages encompassing computing hardware, data centre infrastructure, cloud services, and networking, including through federal financing tools such as direct loans and loan guarantees.

Why does it matter?

The financing highlights the growing role of telecommunications infrastructure in US-China economic and technology competition in Africa. The US government is using export financing to support an American owned operator purchasing equipment from US and allied suppliers, while Chinese vendors, particularly Huawei, already have a substantial presence in African telecommunications networks. The loan also illustrates how government backed financing can influence operators’ choices of network suppliers and the development of telecommunications infrastructure.