‘Lonely’ singer finalizes Akon City deal in Senegal, 2,000-acre project to adopt its own cryptocurrency AKoin
Akon announced Monday, January 13, that he has finalized an agreement for the establishment of his own city in Senegal under the name Akon City. In an Instagram post of a photo from the deal-finalizing moment, Akon revealed he was "looking forward to hosting you there in the future."
Although his announcement didn't reveal many details, Akon attended an interview with Nick Cannon in December 2019 where he explained his plans for the city, "It’s a 10-year building block so we’re doing it in stages. We started construction in March and stage two is going to be 2025."
Elsewhere, in the Power 106 chat, Akon criticized billionaires who haven't invested their efforts toward similar projects. "If you can have a billion dollars sitting in the bank, while you have all these people suffering, it’s crazy to me. It’s like a waste of a billion dollars," he said.
Akon has been renowned as a Grammy-nominated rapper with hit songs like 'Lonely', 'Locked Up', and 'Oh Africa', but has been gathering recognition more of an entrepreneur and businessman than a musical artist of late.
Akon's plans are to build in the village of Mbodiene, on a 2,000-acre land which was gifted to him by President Macky Sall of Senegal. The agreement with the tourism company SAPCO, according to a separate Jakarta Post report, is a "memorandum of understanding."
According to the artist's official website, The city will adopt its own crypto-currency, according to the rapper, under the currency name "AKoin", and is expected to launch early July, according to CNN.
Akon revealed plans for Akon City and his digital cash currency during a panel at the Cannes Lions festival of creativity, which took place in 2018. Akon's interest in Senegal shows with this futuristic project, as he was born in Senegal before moving to Union City, New Jersey, at age seven.