﻿AKON PLANS TO BUILD 6 BILLION DOLLAR AKON’S CITY IN SENEGAL
In 2006, it was difficult to turn on the radio in the United States without hearing Akon's
voice. Despite being best known for megahits like "Smack That" and "Lonely," the Senegalese
American crooner broke into the music scene in the era of pop chart toppers like Shakira,
Justin Timberlake, and Kelly Clarkson, thanks to which he secured numerous chart-topping hits
such as "Smack That" and "Lonely." But he does not want his legacy to be about that,
as he told Business Insider during a recent phone interview.
"One of my biggest fears was just being known for singing and dancing," Akon said.
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In the year 2020, Akon's music may no longer be blasting from the radios of teenage girls' cars,
but the singer has been far from inactive since his release from prison. he's transitioned from
making hip-hop and R&B hits to forging a new identity as a Tech Entrepreneur.
His first venture was a solar-energy company. After that, he created his own cryptocurrency.
According to The Guardian, he made the purchase of a diamond mine in South Africa along the way.
Akon City is a project created by musician and entrepreneur Akon,
a Senegalese-American citizen. Acreage in Senegal is to be designated for Akon City development.
Akon and the Senegal Tourism Minister, Alioune Sarrin, unveiled the project in Senegal in 2018.
Akon says he was inspired by the movie Black Panther, and in addition to that,
he refers to his new settlement, 'Akon City,' as a
"real-life Wakanda," where cryptocurrency and blockchain technology are applied.
Akon revealed plans for "Akon City" on January 15, 2020.
Akon unveiled a visualization of his city project in September of 2020.
A 2,000-acre planned development is planned on the Atlantic coast, which will result in
a futuristic city. The geographic location of Senegal is approximately 62 miles south of Dakar.
Macky Sall, the president of Senegal, is backing the 'Akon City' project. Planned to have office,
apartment, park, university, ocean resort, and a 5,000-bed hospital, the planned city includes
condominiums, accommodations, amenities, features, functions, features, services,
structures, and settings. The highest building in Dakar is 250 meters high.
Akon Tower would stand at nearly 985 feet, making it by far the highest building in
Senegal, the proposed Akon City centre. The road from the capital to the planned metropolis of Akon
runs sometimes right along the coast, crossing villages inside. As for the city's physical
appearance, Karaz envisions it as a "hyperdrive" version of a variety of world-famous cities:
a hybrid of the Spanish coastline with the futuristic-looking skyline of Dubai,
United Arab Emirates, and a dash of New York City's Madison Square Garden for good measure.
A “special tax zone” has been established for Akon City
by the Senegalese government. The city will have it’s own cryto currency “Akoin”.
Although Akon has not announced any major development projects in Africa yet,
he has already founded a city in Senegal. Complaints have arisen on the continent
over previous plans and grand promises, and questions have arisen around transparency.
While scarce private investment is badly needed in the West African country following the economic
impact of the coronavirus outbreak, Sarr said that Akon's launch occurs at the right time.
Akon said in the future, the city promises to provide Senegalese people with new job
opportunities and an alternative home for African Americans facing discrimination.
“Because of all the different ways in which they are treated back home, it is impossible to even
fathom the injustice,” So they endure it because there is no other option. We want Senegal to be
your first stop if you're coming from America, Europe, or elsewhere in the diaspora, Akon Said.
Information about the project is scarce. Only a third of the estimated $6 billion required for
the project has been raised. The investors will not be named as they have signed confidentiality
agreements, but Akon announced that $3 billion of the funding has been secured. Before been
asked questions about how his cryptocurrency will be viable in the planned city, the singer
however avoided talking about it, instead calling on “the geeks” to handle the matter.
A consulting and engineering firm based in the United States,
KE International, claims that it has been commissioned to construct the city,
which it claims will usher in a new design and architecture paradigm for Africa.
In order to duplicate the concepts of smart cities like the Mwale Medical and Technological City
project in Kenya, a plan is being considered to franchise the project to other countries
in Africa. Mwale has invested $4 billion in Mwale Medical and Technology City. Business
Insider reported the Kenyan entrepreneur behind the project, had previously invested $4 billion.
If this information is correct, this contribution will be noteworthy for a number of
reasons. Insider claims that Mwale has previously been sued for owing debt and failing to repay it.
From a purely mathematical perspective, it seems as though Akon would almost
certainly reach his $6 billion goal. He's an evangelist on the potential
of African countries to redevelop and reduce dependency on the West. In 2014,
he announced the “Light up Africa” campaign, a partnership between the World Bank and
governments that will provide subsidized solar power for 600 million people in rural communities.
The project has provided solar electricity access to more than 32 million people
in 25 countries. Following a statement in 2015 that he had “influenced African leaders,”
Akon's involvement in Africa became a hot topic. Manipulate them in Africa. You absolutely must,”
he said at the Coca-Cola Africa Day celebration, acknowledging the challenges of encouraging
African leaders to pitch in with their resources. He predicted in 2018 that his Akoin currency,
which requires smartphones to function, will be the “uniform currency of Africa”.
Even so, questions have been raised around its accessibility in lower- and middle-income
countries where data is costly. The Pew Research Center found that only a third of
Senegalese citizens use smartphones. While describing the Akoin as
“pie-in-the-sky,” Michael Kimani, the chairman of the Blockchain Association of Kenya,
argued that its implementation across Africa would be difficult to realize.
The City will run on clean energy and feature an artificial intelligence data center,
the latter of which is sponsored by the singer's Akon Lighting Africa,
which funds solar energy projects in rural areas.
As with all futuristic cities, the new city will have a futuristic visual appearance
to match the cutting-edge technology. Bakri & Associates Development Consultants
helped craft a Surrealist-style metropolis with its intricate structures.
That is to say, the renderings look as if they were used for the sets of a Ridley Scott film.
A few people in Senegal believe the bigger question is whether Akon should even try
to build a glitzy, environmentally sustainable smart city in Senegal.
According to a report released in 2016 by the consulting firm Deloitte,
Africa is an ideal place to develop smart cities because of its booming young population.
In addition, the continent is home to a rising young population that is searching
for employment in the city. 60% of Africa's population is under the age of 25 in 2018. And,
by the year 2034, Africa's working-age population is expected to be over one billion people.
At the moment, it appears that Akon City is not just a monument to his ego,
but rather a symbol of the concept of a hip, urban metropolis. Akon's home country of Senegal will be
the home base for the hub. Before moving to New Jersey, he spent his youth in Senegal.
When speaking to the Associated Press, the singer said the project is intended
to spur economic growth and create lots of job opportunities for Senegalese people. Although the
star power of Akon may have faded in the United States, it shines in Africa brighter than ever.
He was named the most banking artist on the continent, by Forbes Africa in 2017.
Akon, 47, is "greater than Michael Jackson" in Africa according
to Karas. In a March episode in the Blockchain Journeys, Karas said that when they go to Africa,
they need a great security team "because of the number of people who just want to touch them.
With his 2004 single "Locked Up," he burst into the US music scene at the age of 30 years. Akon
continued selling more than 35 million albums worldwide, working with stars like Lady Gaga,
Michael Jackson, Eminem, Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg and others.
The amount of the personal fortune Akon acquired in those years is unclear,
but he ranked ninth among the top 20 hip-hop earners of Forbes in the 2011 ranking and
raised an estimated $13 million. BBC estimated the net value of Akon to be approximately 80 million
dollars in 2018. What do you Think
About Akon’s 6 Billion Dollar Futuristic City? Lets Know Your Opinions in our comment section.