The Trump administration has taken a significant step in its tech rivalry with China, approving a $99.6 million loan to expand American telecommunications presence across Africa. The funds will support Africell, currently the only U.S.-owned mobile network operator on the continent, as it competes against Chinese giant Huawei.
Africell announced Friday that the Export-Import Bank loan would allow it to invest specifically in American and European technology for its operations in Angola. The company currently operates in four African nations: Angola, Congo, Sierra Leone, and Gambia. According to the firm’s statement, the initiative will boost U.S.-based employment in telecommunications while strengthening American technology leadership abroad.
Why does this matter? Huawei dominates Africa’s telecom landscape, having supplied more than half of the continent’s 4G and 5G network infrastructure. The Chinese company is the world’s biggest supplier of telecommunications network equipment, a position that’s raised alarm bells in Washington for years.
The U.S. has long accused Huawei of security risks and criminal activity, including allegations of technology theft and wire fraud. A criminal racketeering trial against Huawei opened in New York this week. The company maintains that American allegations are demonstrably false.
President Trump’s administration first raised national security concerns about Huawei during his initial term and has lobbied Western allies to avoid using the company’s products. The new loan represents another chapter in that ongoing effort to limit Chinese technological expansion globally.
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