The Trump administration plans to provide a loan of $100 million to Africell, aiming to challenge Huawei's presence in Africa

The Trump administration is set to provide nearly $100 million in loans to Africell, the only American-owned telecom firm in Africa, to counter the growing influence of China's Huawei on the continent, as reported by a source familiar with the situation and a draft press release obtained by Reuters.

The loan from the Export-Import Bank to Africell will facilitate Africell's investment in cutting-edge mobile network technology sourced from American and allied suppliers, as stated in the draft release set to be issued later on Friday.

“We are pleased to collaborate with EXIM to enhance trusted and secure communications infrastructure in our operating markets,” stated Ziad Dalloul, CEO of Africell Holding Limited, as noted in the document.

Huawei and the Chinese embassy have yet to provide a response to requests for comment.

The loan, which has not been reported before, is part of Washington's initiative to enhance the use of non-Huawei telecom equipment abroad.

President Donald Trump's adminTrump launchedwork" initiative during his first term aimed at eliminating Chinese telecom technology, applications, and carriers from the infrastructure in the United States and allied countries. These efforts have persisted into his second term.

The U.S. has imposed significant sanctions on Huawei due to allegations that the company may engage in user surveillance, a claim that Huawei firmly denies.

According to Counterpoint Research, Huawei commands approximately 52% of the market share for 5G infrastructure in Africa.

The loan aligns with a 2025 executive order issued by Trump, which directs U.S. agencies to advocate for the use of American technology overseas in areas such as AI, data center storage, cloud services, and networking.

Established in 2001, Africell acquired technology from HP, Nokia, Dell, Oracle, and other companies to enhance a new data center in Angola, as stated on its website. It caters to 15 million customers throughout Angola, Gambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sierra Leone.

After a visit to Africell's Angola offices in 2022, Wendy Sherman, who served as deputy secretary of state under former U.S. President Joe Biden, remarked that countries opting for Huawei may be "potentially giving up their sovereignty ... turning over their data to another country."

Africell secured a $100 million loan in 2018 from the U.S. development financier, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, which is now known as the International Development Finance Corporation, to enhance its communications infrastructure.