Africell supports visit of United States Secretary of Defense to Angola 

27 September 2023 – Africell has provided free high-speed internet connectivity to an event in Angola on 27 September at which United States Secretary of Defense, General Lloyd Austin, addressed Angolan leaders, legislators and civil society figures during his first official visit to Africa as Defense Secretary. 

Speaking at the Angolan National Archive, Secretary Austin reflected on the ties binding Angola and the United States, and explained why the United States views African nations as partners, rather than pawns or proxies.

“Over the past few years, America's relationship with Angola has taken huge strides” said Secretary Austin. “Angola has become a highly valued, highly capable partner for the United States—and a rising leader in the region and beyond.”

Secretary Austin’s visit to Angola came within a context of deepening engagement by the United States in sub-Saharan Africa – not only in matters of defense and security, but also in areas of trade, investment, innovation and infrastructure. An emerging theme is the ‘Lobito Corridor’, an international investment initiative connecting Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia under the aegis of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), a US and G7-led program to unlock billions of dollars of investment in emerging markets.

Secretary Austin explained the United States administration’s approach: “[Africa] matters profoundly to the shape of the 21st-century world. And it matters for our common prosperity and our shared security. Africa also matters deeply to the United States, and to my boss, President Biden. And I can tell you first-hand that the President believes that Africa's success is crucial to all of our futures.”

Africell is the only American-owned mobile network operator. Since launching operations in Angola in April 2022, it has earned huge market by offering lower prices and better service quality on a network which, because it is built exclusively with trusted Nokia technology, offers high levels of security. 

Speaking at a recent event in New York, Senior White House Advisor on Energy and Investment Amos Hochstein highlighted Africell’s role as the “connective tissue” in the Lobito Corridor project. “Africell connects the dots because with a relatively modest investment from the US government, it has been able to launch and grow quickly by giving Angolan consumers valuable new mobile capabilities,” he said.

The status of the Lobito Corridor as a model for collaborative international investment in specific regions is gaining traction. At the G20 Summit in India earlier in September, President Joe Biden described it as a “game-changing regional investment”. Addressing the UN General Assembly on 19 September, he argued that the Lobito Corridor will “boost regional connectivity and strengthen commerce and food security in Africa.” 

As a recipient of funding from the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Africell exemplifies opportunities for private companies to plug into multilateral investment initiatives such as the PGII/Lobito Corridor. Africell recently partnered with USAID on a $5 million project to increase access to mobile money in Angola, a country which – despite having a mature banking sector and relatively big economy, ranks among the lowest in Africa on the GSMA’s mobile money prevalence index . Further afield, in Sierra Leone, Africell has won a $1 million grant from the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to explore expanding broadband internet provision in the west African country – a collaboration intended to advance both the PGII agenda and the US Government’s Digital Transformation with Africa initiative.