To increase American tech presence in a region where China’s Huawei is a major participant, the Trump administration has given a $99.6 million loan to a U.S.-owned cell phone network operator in Africa.
Operator Africell announced the financing from the U.S. government’s Export-Import Bank on Friday. In Africa, it is the only cell network provider owned by Americans.
The loan will “boost U.S.-based employment in the telecommunications sector and strengthen American technology leadership abroad,” Africell said in a statement.
It said the funds will enable it to invest specifically in European and American technology for its activities in Angola, a country in southern Africa.
Africell is also active in The Gambia, Sierra Leone, and the Congo.
Over half of Africa’s 4G and 5G network infrastructure is thought to have been supplied by Huawei, the largest supplier of telecoms network equipment globally.
During his first term, U.S. President Donald Trump’s government expressed worries about Huawei’s national security and took action to stop its global expansion.
While U.S. authorities have accused Huawei of stealing technology, conspiring to steal U.S. trade secrets, and conducting wire and bank fraud, among other crimes, the U.S. has pressured Western allies to refrain from using the Chinese company’s goods in their high-speed wireless networks.
This week, a criminal racketeering trial against Huawei began in New York. The U.S. accusations, according to Huawei, are “demonstrably false.”
The Trump administration has also made efforts to offset China’s significant influence in other parts of Africa, such as the extraction of rare earth elements and vital minerals that are essential to the manufacture of electronics, other cutting-edge technologies, and defense systems.
