US EXIM Bank Provides $100M Loan Facility for Africell’s Expansion in Angola

On 11 September 2026, Africell Angola announced that it has secured a USD 99.6 million loan facility from the US Export-Import Bank to expand its network in Angola. The condition attached to the loan is for Africell to select US or EU telecom equipment vendors.

Africell CEO Ziad Dalloul is proud to fly the American technology flag in Angola and across Sub-Saharan Africa. Other than Angola, Africell also operates in DR Congo, Sierra Leone and The Gambia.

The financing will go toward procuring equipment to enhance coverage and improve cybersecurity. Specifically, Africell plans to improve coverage along the Benguela Railway, which is the Angolan segment of the #LobitoCorridor, in preparation for greater traffic as the railway gets upgraded.

Currently, Africell has more than 7 million subscribers in Angola and about 20 million in total across Africa. In Angola, it competes with Unitel, Movicel and Angola Telecom.

When Africell first secured its license in Angola in 2019, the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) — then known as the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) — stepped in to provide seed capital of USD 100 million. Thus, Africell was able to launch commercial services in 2021.

Since then, Africell has paid back its debt in full to DFC and the USEXIM is confident that Africell will make good use of this new loan. The move is in line with the Trump Administration’s policy to counter the influence of China in Africa. In particular, to cut off Huawei from the deal with Africell. Thus, Africell uses mostly Nokia equipment for its 4G and 5G services, which became available at first in Luanda since July 2022.