US to lend Africell $100 million in push against Huawei in Africa

The Trump administration is set to lend close to $100 million to Africell, described as Africa's only American-owned telecoms company, in a move aimed at checking Huawei's expansion across the continent.

The financing from the Export-Import Bank is intended to let Africell invest in the latest mobile network technology sourced from American and allied suppliers, according to a draft press release and a person familiar with the matter. The loan has not previously been reported and was due to be announced later on Friday.

"We are pleased to be working with EXIM to introduce more trusted and secure communications infrastructure to our operating markets," Africell Holding Limited CEO Ziad Dalloul said, according to the draft document.

Huawei and the Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The loan forms part of Washington's broader campaign to promote non-Huawei telecoms equipment overseas. During his first term, President Donald Trump launched a "clean network" initiative to remove Chinese telecoms technology, apps and carriers from infrastructure in the United States and allied countries, and similar efforts have continued in his second term.

Washington has imposed heavy sanctions on Huawei over allegations that the company could spy on users, which Huawei denies. According to Counterpoint Research, Huawei holds roughly a 52% share of the 5G infrastructure market in Africa.

The financing also follows a 2025 executive order by Trump directing US agencies to promote the use of American technology abroad in areas including artificial intelligence, data center storage, cloud services and networking.

Africell was founded in 2001 and serves about 15 million customers across Angola, Gambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone. Its website says it bought technology from HP, Nokia, Dell, Oracle and others to power a new data center in Angola.

After a 2022 visit to Africell's offices in Angola, Wendy Sherman, then deputy secretary of state under former President Joe Biden, said that when countries choose Huawei "they are potentially giving up their sovereignty, ... turning over their data to another country."

Africell previously received a $100 million loan in 2018 from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, now the International Development Finance Corporation, to expand its communications infrastructure.