Africell highlighted by President Biden during 2023 G7 Summit

The White House lists Africell among U.S. companies boosting infrastructure investment in Africa and announces new support for Africell by USAID, U.S. EXIM and USTDA.

20 May 2023 - The White House has highlighted Africell’s role in the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII).

At the 2023 G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, President Biden and other G7 leaders reiterated their commitment to the PGII, a major initiative encouraging international investors to provide more and better-quality infrastructure financing in low- and middle-income countries .

Africell’s work in Africa is advancing the PGII’s aim to get more private sector capital involved in developing digital technologies in emerging economies. Africell is the only American-owned mobile network operator on the continent and has collaborated with various arms of the United States government to increase the capacity, resilience and accessibility of its digital services.

In an update published during the 2023 G7 Summit, The White House notes that the United States Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) are all backing Africell as part of efforts to boost digital infrastructure and digital services in Angola and the DRC. 

According to the update: “Expanding on the DFC’s existing financing for Africell in the DRC, Sierra Leone, and the Gambia, U.S. EXIM is continuing its due diligence for a new transaction supporting the expansion of wireless services, and USAID is announcing a digital payments initiative with Africell in Angola. Together, these projects aim to provide fast and reliable internet in Angola and DRC and expand access to mobile money services in rural areas.” 

The PGII was launched in June 2022 to tackle the problem of limited financing options inhibiting infrastructure development in emerging markets. The wide-ranging initiative, which is championed by the United States and other G7 countries, facilitates investments in areas including digital connectivity, climate security, health and gender equality.

Africell launched mobile services in Angola in April 2022 and activated its mobile money platform a year later. Africell’s network in Angola is distinguished by its secure equipment from trusted vendors such as Nokia. In its update, The White House discusses the “Lobito Corridor”, a string of potential infrastructure projects linking Lobito (a port on Angola’s Atlantic coast) to the Indian Ocean, via Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania. With Africell having already brought faster and cheaper mobile service to almost 10 million new customers in Angola, the redoubled support from DFC, U.S. EXIM and USAID will extend Africell’s impact in the region and accelerate the realisation of the Lobito Corridor.