Africell salutes White House meeting between President João Lourenço and President Joseph Biden

Africell, the only US-owned mobile network operator in Africa and Angola’s most significant non-energy sector US investor, celebrates the forthcoming visit of Angolan President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço to the White House.

29 November 2023 | President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço of the Republic of Angola and President Joseph Biden of the United States of America will mark 30-years of diplomatic relations between the two countries and discuss cooperation on trade, investment, climate and energy during a meeting at The White House on 30 November. The leaders will also discuss the ‘Lobito Corridor’ project, an initiative to connect Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia to global markets through Angola’s Lobito port. 

President Lourenço’s visit to the White House reflects Angola’s standing as a strategically significant economic power. Through the Lobito Corridor project, which is part of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI), the United States, other G7 governments and the European Union are exploring transformational investments in central and southern Africa, seeking to improve digital connectivity, increase gender equality, and raise environmental standards. Angola’s pivotal role testifies to the successful efforts of President Lourenço’s administration to liberalize and diversify Angola’s economy – including in the telecommunications sector, where US-owned Africell was awarded an operating license with a mandate to introduce much-needed competition and innovation.

Africell is the most significant non-energy sector US private investor in Angola. Africell’s launch in the country is a case study of high-quality international capital moving into Angola’s increasingly open and business-friendly economy. To date, Africell has committed over $200 million of investment in establishing a world-class mobile network in the country. In less than two years, the brand has won more than 8 million customers in Angola, representing a nationwide market share of approximately 30%. It has also created hundreds of skilled jobs for ambitious Angolan professionals. 

The status of the Lobito Corridor as a model for collaborative international investment is gaining traction. At the G20 Summit in India in September 2023, President Biden described it as a ’game-changing regional investment’. Addressing the latest UN General Assembly, he argued that the Lobito Corridor will “boost regional connectivity and strengthen commerce and security in Africa.”

As a prior recipient of funding from the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) in its other markets, Africell exemplifies opportunities for private American companies to plug into multilateral investment initiatives such as the Lobito Corridor project. In Angola, Africell has partnered with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) on a multi-million-dollar project to increase access to mobile money for without access to the formal banking sector. Africell is also present in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the next link in the Lobito Corridor, where it recently launched services in the under-served east and southeast of the country. Further afield, in Sierra Leone, Africell has also concluded a project with 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 PGI agenda and the US Government’s Digital Transformation with Africa initiative.

Amos Hochstein, President Biden’s Senior Advisor on Energy and Investment and a key architect of the PGI, recently highlighted Africell’s contribution by describing its digital services in Angola, DRC and other African countries as a “connective tissue”. Speaking at an event celebrating the Lobito Corridor during the UN General Assembly in September, Mr Hochstein explained that with the help of financing from the US government, investors such as Africell are having a big impact. Referring to Africell’s operations in Angola, Mr Hochstein said: “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.”

The White House meeting between President Biden and President Lourenco is an important engagement and a catalyst for deeper bilateral cooperation between Angola and the United States. Africell salutes both Presidents for this important milestone in the history of relations between the two countries. As a US-owned company and committed long-term partner to Angola, Africell is proud to be blazing a trail as a successful US investor in Angola and to be offering inspiration for further international investment into Angola and the wider Lobito Corridor region.