Trump administration to lend $100m to telecoms firm Africell, countering Huawei in Africa

File photo: A man looks on as he walks next to a Huawei store in the Wangfujing street in Beijing, China, 8 July 2026. Reuters/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

The loan from the Export-Import Bank will "enable Africell to invest in the latest mobile network technology from American and allied suppliers," according to the release, published on Friday, 11 September, and first reported by Reuters.

“We are pleased to be working with Exim to introduce more trusted and secure communications infrastructure to our operating markets,” said Ziad Dalloul, CEO of Africell Holding Limited.

Huawei did not respond to a request for comment. The Chinese embassy in Washington said Chinese investment in Africa has spurred growth there and been welcomed by residents. It urged the US to do more to support the development of other countries and not "pursue its Africa agenda with the aim of undermining China-Africa cooperation."

The loan is part of Washington's campaign to bolster the use of non-Huawei telecoms equipment overseas.

US alleges spying, Huawei denies

President Donald Trump's administration launched a "clean network" initiative in his first term to purge Chinese telecoms technology, apps and carriers from infrastructure in the US and allied nations, and has continued similar efforts during his second term.

The US has imposed heavy sanctions on Huawei over allegations the company could spy on users, which Huawei denies.

Huawei holds about a 52% market share for 5G infrastructure in Africa, according to Counterpoint Research.

The loan also follows through on a 2025 executive order by Trump mandating that US agencies promote the use of US technology abroad in AI as well as data centre storage, cloud services and networking.

Founded in 2001, Africell bought technology from HP, Nokia, Dell, Oracle and others to power a new data centre in Angola, according to its website. It serves 15 million customers across Angola, Gambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone.

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

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