U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that Africell’s launch in Angola is an “important investment” that is “delivering real results”.
Two weeks after the visit by US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman to Africell’s head office in Luanda, Angola, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has spoken about the significance of Africell’s investment in the country.
In remarks made before a meeting in Washington, D.C., with Angola’s foreign minister Tete António, Secretary Blinken described Africell’s launch in Angola as an “important investment” that is “producing real results” and advancing collaboration on “security and transparency”.
Africell is the only US-owned mobile network operator in sub-Saharan Africa. The US government, through the Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is the company’s biggest external investor. The launch of Africell operations in Angola in April opened a new chapter for Angola’s telecommunications sector, shaking up the incumbent duopoly which has under-served Angolan mobile users, and the entry of Africell exemplified the efforts of the Angolan government to attract more international investment in the country. Africell’s network infrastructure is based on Nokia equipment, offering benefits of security in addition to speed and reliability.