Akon City, a futuristic city in Senegal, described in detail.
Senegal, a west African country that is also known as the "Gateway to Africa," is well-served
by a variety of air and maritime transportation routes.
Located at an ecological juncture where semiarid grassland, ocean shoreline, and tropical rainforest
converge, Senegal is home to a diverse range of plant and animal life, as well as a diverse
range of climates.
As a result, the baobab tree and the lion were chosen as the country's national symbols
from among the country's diverse natural heritage.
Senegal was once a part of ancient Ghana and Djolof kingdoms, and it was an important stop
on trans-Saharan caravan routes for a long period of time.
In the late nineteenth century, France established a colony in Senegal.
However, under the leadership of the writer and statesman Léopold Senghor, it was granted
independence in 1960, first as a constituent of the short-lived Mali Federation, and then
as a fully independent state under its own laws.
Senegal's economy has traditionally been reliant on peanuts, literally; the government has
made numerous attempts, with limited success, to diversify the country's economy in recent
years.
Despite this, the country experienced economic decline during the twentieth century.
In Senegal, Dakar is the most important city and the country's capital.
It is a vibrant and attractive metropolis situated on the Cape Verde Peninsula, along
the Atlantic coast.
This popular tourist destination will remain so even after the government announces plans
to relocate the capital further inland.
Dakar will continue to be one of Africa's most important harbors and an economic and
cultural center for Senegal as well as the rest of West Africa as a whole.
Infrastructural development in Senegal is progressing toward being efficient and up
to date.
Senegal currently spends a whopping sum of approximately $911 million on infrastructure
each year, but a massive sum of $312 million is wasted as a result of poor administration.
Senegal will require significant increases in funding in order to catch up with the rest
of the world.
Despite this, infrastructure in Senegal is significantly better than in other developing
countries, but it still requires significant improvement.
The majority of this work will be impossible to complete without significant increases
in funding, which will have to come from private and foreign sources alike.
There are several internationally renowned musicians and artists who call Senegal home.
As well as influencing the wider world, aspects of Senegalese culture have made their way
to the United States, most notably Senghor's support for Negritude, a literary movement
that flourished in the United States during the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s and emphasized
African values and heritage.
A dictum by Senghor that Senegal adheres to is: "We must learn to absorb and influence
others more than we absorb and influence ourselves."
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Aliaune DamalaBadara Akon Thiam, also known as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer,
songwriter, record producer, and entrepreneur who hails from New Jersey.
He is one of the most influential Senegalese artists today.
His rise to prominence began in 2004 with the release of "Locked Up," the first single
from his debut album Trouble, which was followed by the release of "Locked Up II."
Akon was a legendary musician in his early twenties, whose music was listened to by almost
everyone who enjoyed hip-hop at the time.
Even with all of his celebrity and wealth, Akon was aware that something was missing,
and that he did not want his legacy to be limited to being a musician.
According to Akon, "one of my greatest fears was simply becoming known for my singing and
dancing."
The son of a farmer from Missouri, Akon spent most of his childhood in Senegal before his
family relocated to New Jersey when he was eleven years old.
He made his debut on the American music scene in 2004 with the single "Locked Up," which
he released at the age of 30.
Following his debut album, Akon went on to sell more than 35 million albums worldwide,
collaborating with artists such as Lady Gaga and Eminem.
In 2011, Akon ranked ninth on Forbes' list of hip-top hop's 20 earners, with an estimated
$13 million in earnings.
It's unclear how much of a personal fortune Akon amassed during those years.
According to the BBC, Akon's net worth was approximately $80 million as of 2018.
In 2018, Akon announced to the world that he was collaborating with the Senegalese government
to develop Akon City, a tourist destination that would operate on a cryptocurrency-based
economy.
In the same year, it was reported that the Senegalese president MackySall had given Akon
three square miles of land minutes from the Blaise Diagne International Airport and approximately
50 kilometers from the capital of Dakar.
It is currently in the planning stages and will be the world's first cryptocurrency-based
city, with Akon's own cryptocurrency, Akoin, serving as the transactional backbone of the
city.
On January 13, 2020, the city announced that the agreements for the project had been finalized
and that the project had begun.
His Instagram account featured a photo of himself with Senegal President MackySall,
with the caption "Looking forward to hosting you there in the future."
Akon City was officially inaugurated on September 1, 2008, with the laying of the first stone
by Akon himself.
The contract for the construction of the city was awarded to the engineering and consulting
firm KE International, which was also responsible for the construction of Mwale Medical and
Technology City in the preceding year.
A solar power plant and a hospital are among the features of Phase 1 of construction, which
is scheduled to be completed in 2023.
Other features include roads, residences, hotels, a police station, a waste facility,
a school, and a police station.
Four days after the death of actor Chadwick Boseman, who starred in the film Black Panther,
Akon admitted that the film had played a role in his desire to educate African-Americans
in the diaspora about African culture, which was partly inspired by the film.
As he continued, "If you are coming from America, Europe, or anywhere else in the diaspora,
and you feel a strong desire to visit Africa, we want Senegal to be your first port of call."
It is Akon's intention to reinvent his legacy with his masterpiece, a $6 billion sustainable
smart city in Senegal backed by a mysterious investor, which he calls "Akon City."
In addition to a luxury resort and condos, the 2,000-acre futuristic metropolis would
include a hospital, a stadium, and an artificial-intelligence data center.
In his announcement of Akon City, the Senegalese-American singer stated that the city would empower
Africa's youth.
However, few details have been released about the city's community involvement.
Akon City has hired a Los Angeles construction company as well as an architect from Dubai,
United Arab Emirates.
Despite the fact that Akon has not been widely recognized as a musician in recent years,
the singer has been far from inactive.
As a tech entrepreneur in Africa, he's transitioned from a career in hip-hop and R&B to forging
a new identity in the tech industry.
His first venture was a solar-energy company.
After that, he created his own cryptocurrency.
His journey took him to South Africa, where he purchased a diamond mine.
The 2,000-acre waterfront oasis is being developed to serve as a center for business and tourism,
and the renderings look like something out of a science fiction movie or television series.
The official website of Akon City depicts a futuristic metropolis dotted with gleaming
twisting skyscrapers and palm trees, as depicted on the website.
Residents will be able to use Akoin to pay for a variety of services, including the tram,
basic utilities, business licenses, and even their taxes, according to plans.
Akon has stated that this will be the first of several Akon-branded smart cities to be
built throughout Africa if he gets his way.
Jon Karas, Akon's business partner and former Hollywood producer, is playing an important
role in the realization of this dream for the singer-songwriter-producer.
The president and cofounder of Akoin, Karas is also the CEO and cofounder of Akon Legacy
Ventures, Akon's commercial entity that encompasses his other endeavors.
He is also the cofounder of Akoin.
It has been revealed that Akon is in charge of a $6 billion project that is heavily reliant
on the support of a single named investor who has a history of lawsuits against him
for unpaid debts on his record.
Despite the fact that several of the most prominent people involved in the city's development,
including Akon, have promoted the city as a future job generator for locals, no one
has been able to articulate exactly how the construction of this lustrous giant will benefit
locals.
The question that everyone wants answered but which has remained unanswered and which
has the potential to derail Akon's proposed heaven is: Is it possible, or will it become
yet another failed smart city project in Africa's long history of failed smart city projects?
Akon has launched several projects in Africa in recent years, the most notable of which
is Akon Lighting Africa, a solar-power project that was founded in 2014 and currently operates
in 18 countries.
Akon City is planned to be built on the Senegalese coast about 62 miles south of Dakar and 35
miles from the city's new $575 million international airport.
It will be the world's largest urban development project.
At the moment, the tallest building in Dakar is 250 feet in height.
Akon tower, the projected focal point of Akon City, would rise to about 985 feet in height,
making it the highest structure in Senegal by a wide margin.
In some places, the highway connecting the capital with Akon's planned metropolis follows
the coastline, while in others, it deviates inland, passing through a scattering of villages.
Bakri & Associates Development Consultants CEO Hussein Bakri stated that the city would
be created using a combination of traditional construction materials and innovative materials
designed exclusively for Akon City.
Bakri & Associates Development Consultants is the primary architect for the project.
Among these are energy-generating materials such as lightweight steel and glass.
A transportation system will be built that will operate both above and below ground.
Akon stated that Akoin could be used with a smart phone and that users would be able
to convert their unused prepaid mobile minutes to Akoin if they so desired.
Aside from government-issued currency, Akoin can also be converted into other established
cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, which can be used outside of Africa.
When Akoin announced that the cryptocurrency would first be launched in another smart city
in Kenya, the Mwale Medical and Technology City (MMTC), which is currently under construction
by the Los Angeles-based firm KE International, which was also awarded the $6 billion construction
contract for Akon city, it marked yet another significant step forward.
Mr. Julius Mwale, the Kenyan technology entrepreneur and founder of MwaleMedical Technology City,
is the only named financier and the lead investor in Akon City, and he is responsible for a
large portion of the $4 billion investment.
Former Kenya Air Force soldier Mwale fled his home country in 2000 under "unclear circumstances"
and sought asylum in the United States.
He said that his life was in danger and that he had fled Kenya following a disagreement
with government officials.
For the time being, the identities of the other investors and partners in the project
remain a mystery.
Construction was expected to begin in early 2021, with the goal of having Akon City completed
and operating exclusively on Akoin within ten years of the project's inception date.
It will provide employment for around 500,000 people.
Akon is by no means the first person to attempt to build a smart city in Africa, nor is he
the most successful.
"African smart cities" has been a buzzword for the past 10 to 15 years, according to
Mira Slavova, an assistant professor at the University of Warwick who wrote a research
paper on smart cities in Africa.
There have been numerous proposals for smart-city projects, which are typically defined as developments
that use technology to run more efficiently and sustainably.
Many of these projects have been put on hold.
Plans for a smart city in South Africa, once dubbed "African Manhattan," were stymied when
the city of Johannesburg rejected the proposal because it did not include enough affordable
housing, according to the city's website.
A proposed "Silicon Savannah" in Kenya is also faltering, according to a report published
last year by VOA News, because to "grandiose ideas, red tape, and a lack of money."
Then there's the issue of money to consider.
Karas, who previously worked on real-estate development projects in New York City, recognized
that many large-scale development projects end up costing significantly more than they
were originally anticipated.
According to him, "my prediction is that it will cost a little bit more money and take
a little bit longer to complete."
The total cost of building Akon City, according to a second source familiar with the project
who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss financial
details, could very well end up being "double" the $6 billion originally estimated.
The key players in the development of Akon City also appear to be at odds over who exactly
the city is being built for.
In Bakri's words, "the city will be available to everyone," from janitors to engineers to
actors in Hollywood.
Martin, the project manager for KE International's Akon City development, stated that 30 percent
of the city's housing would be affordable to "the lower half of the wage distribution."
This is a list that includes himself: It will be there where you will find me once it is
operational, he said.
"That's the address where I'll be residing."
It's not a question of whether Akon can build a glitzy, sustainable smart city in Senegal;
it's more of a question of whether he should.
According to a 2016 report by the consulting firm Deloitte, Africa could indeed be an ideal
location for the development of smart cities because of its rapidly growing young population,
which is more likely to adopt the technology.
In addition, the continent is home to a growing young population that is hungry for work in
urban areas.
In 2018, the population of Africa was under the age of 25, with 60 percent of the population
under 25.
The continent is also expected to have the largest working-age population by 2034, with
approximately 1.1 billion people in the working age group.
The Delegation for Rapid Entrepreneurship (DER), a $5.4 million annual fund that supports
young entrepreneurs with a focus on digital technologies, was established in Senegal two
years ago, and the country recently passed a "startup act" that provides tax breaks and
other benefits to encourage the establishment of new businesses in a variety of industries.
Akon, however, should involve the community in the development process, rather than waiting
for the working class to trickle into Akon City after it has been established by the
elite.
Experts in sustainable development and smart cities, as well as leaders in the local tech
scene, agree.
Until now, Slavova, a smart-cities researcher at the University of Warwick, hasn't seen
the construction of a smart city "done in a sensitive, considerate, and inclusive way
that takes into account the needs of local people."
"People don't want someone from America to come in and throw bitcoins around and solve
their problems,".
In life nothing good comes easy, Akon’s idea is amazing and his dream to create a
new name and legacy for himself really teaches us to keep working and never give up.
We do believe he should actively involve the Senegalese people in his project for it to
work effectively.
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
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