By Ibrahim Joenal Sesay
FREETOWN, Aug 3 (232news.com) – The Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, otherwise known as DFC, Scott Nathan, has applauded Africell for its contribution to economic growth and social development in Sierra Leone.
Speaking during Scott Nathan’s visit to the new Africell Data Center at Lumley Beach Road in Freetown, Africell Sierra Leone’s Managing Director, Shadi Gerjawi, explained that the facility symbolises Africell’s position at the forefront of telecommunications trends in Africa. Mr. Gerjawi told Mr. Nathan that part of the data center will be reserved for hosting third party infrastructure and data, confirming that it will offer substantial storage capacity for disaster recovery and redundancy for the government, non-government organizations and private companies. Mr. Gerjawi also spoke about how Africell is strengthening its network coverage in Sierra Leone through investment in new sites, especially in rural and hard-to-reach areas. Mr. Gerjawi argued that societies and economies are becoming increasingly smart, mobile, digital, and highlighted the vital importance of data centres in this context.
In response, Scott Nathan said that he and his colleagues at the DFC were impressed to see such significant investment, praising Africell’s innovative team and clear strategy. The DFC is Africell Group’ biggest external investor and Mr. Nathan said that Africell’s progress in Sierra Leone and elsewhere counted as a real “success story” in DFC’s mission to create economic growth in developing markets by encouraging private sector investment.
Scott Nathan was appointed to his current role by the President Joe Biden. Mr. Nathan has extensive experience across the public and private sectors. Most recently, he served as the Senior Advisor to the White House Office of Presidential Personnel after having worked on the Biden-Harris Presidential Transition’s Appointments team, where he oversaw appointments in various important government offices and bureaus. Nr. Nathan also served during the Obama-Biden Administration as the Associate Director for General Government Programs at Office of Management and Budget.
