The music star Akon has been feeling more and more at home in the business world in recent years. There he realizes projects with which he would like to help the African continent. The rapper even had his own city built in Senegal. With the Akoin, its own cryptocurrency will soon see the light of day.
Chart hits like Lonely and Locked Up made Akon a big name in the music game. The American, who has Senegalese roots, is pursuing far more ambitious plans. Because with "Akon City", the pop star is building his own city in Senegal, which is touted as a "real Wakanda" based on the Marvel hit Black Panther . A planned, own cryptocurrency also plays a key role in the plans.
The musician has now secured two large companies as construction partners for the $ 6 billion project. Since June 22 is knownthat the US engineering office KE-International is responsible for the implementation of the construction project. With Bakri & Associates Development Consultants, a company from Dubai was also won over for the architectural design.
Crypto City should be ready by 2030
Akon announced plans for its own city last year. At the beginning of 2020, the considerations fleshed out. At that time, the Senegalese government gave the musician about 81 hectares of land less than an hour's drive from the new international airport near Dakar.
The construction itself is expected to take place in three phases, with KE International already earning the $ 4 billion required for the first two. The first phase is to be completed by 2023, along with roads, basic infrastructure such as a school, a solar energy system and a hospital are to be built here.
The second phase will go from 2024 to 2029. At the end there is said to be a city that is operated entirely with the help of Akon's planned cryptocurrency.
Akon enters the crypto business
With Akoin, Akon is working on its own cryptocurrency, which is expected to go public as early as July 2020. The Akoin is designed as a utility token, behind it is said to be a “large ecosystem”. The Stellar Blockchain is used as the technical basis.
According to BloombergAkon has long been convinced of the crypto value proposition. The musician first invested in Bitcoin in 2014. The idea for his own cryptocurrency, however, should have come to him during a trip to France. When he was unable to exchange the Senegalese national currency, he decided to remedy the situation himself.
The planned Akoin should therefore benefit the economic development of the African continent. Akon, however, gave Decrypt back in April that this is primarily a vision of the future. After all, the limited widespread use of smartphones in Africa would prevent large-scale adaptation of the Akoin. For now, the currency will probably be reserved for Akon City and comparable enclaves.
