Overview
- Africell disclosed on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, that the U.S. Export-Import Bank will provide about $99.6 million to help the company buy American and allied mobile-network equipment.
- Africell is the only U.S.-owned mobile operator in Africa and serves about 15 million customers across Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone and the Gambia.
- U.S. officials have framed the loan as part of a broader policy push that includes the Trump administration’s earlier ‘clean network’ steps and a 2025 executive order to promote U.S. technology overseas on national security and data-sovereignty grounds.
- Industry data show Huawei supplies roughly half of Africa’s 4G/5G infrastructure, so the loan aims to give African operators a non-Chinese procurement option and to support U.S. technology jobs and trusted networks.
- The move could reshape procurement and diplomatic ties by lowering the cost of non-Huawei equipment, drawing U.S. and allied vendors into new contracts, and increasing U.S. influence in African telecom markets.