Africell is set to receive nearly $100 million in financing from the United States Export-Import Bank to expand its telecommunications infrastructure across African markets using technology from American and allied suppliers.
According to Reuters, the financing is part of a wider U.S. effort to strengthen the presence of non-Huawei telecommunications equipment in Africa, where Chinese technology company Huawei holds a significant share of the 5G infrastructure market.
Africell Secures $100 Million US Loan to Expand Network Infrastructure
The loan will allow Africell, described by Reuters as Africa’s only American-owned telecoms company, to invest in newer mobile network technology across its operating markets.
Africell Holding Limited CEO Ziad Dalloul welcomed the financing and said the company was working with the U.S. Export-Import Bank to introduce more secure communications infrastructure.
“We are pleased to be working with EXIM to introduce more trusted and secure communications infrastructure to our operating markets,” Dalloul said, according to a draft press release reviewed by Reuters.
Founded in 2001, Africell currently serves about 15 million customers across Angola, The Gambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone, giving the financing potential relevance across several African telecommunications markets.
The company has previously sourced technology from companies including HP, Nokia, Dell and Oracle for a data centre in Angola.
Africell Secures $100 Million US Loan Amid US-China Telecom Competition
The latest financing comes as the United States continues efforts to encourage countries to use alternatives to Chinese telecommunications equipment.
Washington has imposed extensive sanctions on Huawei over allegations that its technology could be used to spy on users, claims the Chinese company has denied.
Huawei remains a major force in Africa’s telecommunications industry. According to Counterpoint Research data cited by Reuters, the company holds about 52% of Africa’s 5G infrastructure market.
That position has made telecommunications infrastructure another area of competition between the United States and China as both countries seek deeper economic and technological relationships across Africa.
The Africell financing also follows a U.S. executive order issued in 2025 directing American agencies to promote U.S. technology internationally across areas including artificial intelligence, data centre storage, cloud services and networking.
For Africell, the latest loan builds on previous U.S. financial support. The company received a $100 million loan in 2018 from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, which later became the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, to expand its communications infrastructure.
The new financing would provide another significant pool of capital as Africell develops its networks across its four African operating markets.
Africell Secures $100 Million US Loan as Africa’s Digital Infrastructure Expands
The proposed financing could give Africell additional capacity to invest in telecommunications infrastructure serving millions of customers across West, Central and Southern Africa. Beyond supporting the operator’s immediate network needs, access to additional capital could strengthen its ability to expand coverage, improve service quality and respond to growing demand for mobile and digital connectivity across its markets.
The development also highlights the growing strategic importance of Africa’s digital infrastructure as global powers compete over the technology used to build mobile networks, data centres and other communications systems. As more economic activity moves online, telecommunications infrastructure has become closely linked to financial services, commerce, education, healthcare and the wider digital economy.
For African countries, that competition could create more options for financing and technology partnerships. Governments and telecommunications operators may have a wider pool of international partners willing to fund infrastructure, supply equipment and support network expansion. Greater competition among those partners could also give African operators more room to negotiate arrangements that reflect local priorities and the specific infrastructure needs of their markets.
The significance goes beyond expanding mobile coverage. Reliable telecommunications networks are becoming essential to Africa’s efforts to build stronger digital economies, particularly as businesses and consumers depend more heavily on mobile payments, cloud services, digital platforms and data-intensive technologies. Investment in network capacity can therefore have effects that extend beyond telecommunications companies to businesses and communities that depend on connectivity.
At the same time, decisions about telecommunications suppliers involve more than access to financing. Cost, network performance, security, local technical capacity and long-term infrastructure needs will remain important considerations for governments and operators. Countries will also have to consider how technology partnerships fit into their broader digital strategies and whether investments can support sustainable infrastructure development over time.
There is also a question of how much value African economies retain as investment in digital infrastructure expands. Financing that supports stronger local technical expertise, employment, maintenance capacity and knowledge transfer could provide benefits beyond the installation of telecommunications equipment. Building that domestic capacity would help countries reduce dependence on external expertise while strengthening their ability to manage increasingly important digital infrastructure.
With Africell operating across four African countries and Huawei holding a major share of the continent’s 5G infrastructure market, the nearly $100 million loan places Africa’s telecommunications sector at the centre of a wider contest over the technologies supporting its digital future. How African governments and operators navigate that competition could influence not only who supplies the continent’s networks, but also how those networks are financed, governed and developed to support Africa’s long-term digital ambitions.
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Image Credit: AfricellGm
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