Rap Superstar Akon Creates World’s First ‘Crypto City’ in Africa to Fight Controlled Economy
Matt Agorist, The Free Thought Project
Waking Times
While many other rappers in the hip hop world use their spare time and money to pose for photos with large amounts of cash while degrading women, rap superstar, and Senegal transplant, Akon is using his fame and changing the world. In 2018, he began a solar investment program in Sierra Leone to bring thousands of solar powered lights and traffic lights to the people, which was successful. Now, he’s founding an entire ‘crypto city’ to help pull Africa’s economy out of poverty and corruption.
The city will be known as “Akon City” and will trade exclusively in his own digital cash currency called AKoin.
“I really want to make the biggest impact in Africa for sure,” Akon said during a previous interview with CNN. “If I could have my way, Africa would be the United States of Africa.”
And now he’s following through.
Just finalized the agreement for AKON CITY in Senegal. Looking forward to hosting you there in the future pic.twitter.com/dsoYpmjnpf
— AKON (@Akon) January 13, 2020
In less than one year, according to Akon Lighting Africa, a wide range of quality solar solutions, including street lamps, domestic and individual kits, have been installed in 14 African countries — thanks to a private-public partnership model and a well-established network of partners (including SOLEKTRA INT, SUMEC and NARI).
As a result, a number of households, villages, community houses, schools and health centers located in rural areas have been connected to electricity for the first time ever. Local jobs, primarily for young people, have also been created in these communities, for installation of equipment’s and for maintenance.
Now, they are moving on to build an entire sustainable city using the same drive.
Reports suggest that Akon City will be built in the seaside village of Mbodiene and is reportedly just five minutes from Senegal’s new international airport. Akon City is billed as an environmental campaign and sustainable tourism village. Last week, Akon also signed a “memorandum of understanding” with Senegal’s state-owned tourism company SAPCO, according to LadBible.
Akoin is expected to launch in July of this year. The building plans for the 2,000 acre city will take a little longer, however.
“It’s a 10-year building block so we’re doing it in stages. We started construction in March [2019] and stage two is going to be 2025,” Akon said in the course of an interview with Los Angeles rap radio station Power106. It comes with a price tag of $2 billion.
The new city will be “all renewable, the Akon-tainment solar city,” Akon told Power106.
A proponent of the blockchain, Akon will stave off the widespread corruption in Africa using the highly secure and decentralized means of security.
“I think that blockchain and crypto could be the savior for Africa in many ways because it brings the power back to the people,” he said on announcing his plans for Akon City. “Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology offer a more secure currency that enables people in Africa to advance themselves independent of the government.”
He’s right too. Throughout Africa, corrupt governments print money to finance their spending which has created an inflation epidemic on a massive scale. As TFTP reported, citizens of South Sudan saw prices rise—thanks to government caused inflation—over 160 percent. Some countries have seen inflation rates topping 800 percent. For those struggling to get by, watching their money lose most of its value, literally overnight, is a horrifying fate. To combat this problem, many folks across the continent are switching to cryptocurrency.
On the Akoin website, Akon explains how Africa is rich in resources but its people are poor because they are exploited by corrupt governments.
The African continent has 15% of the world’s population. It is the most valuable region in the world in terms of under and aboveground resources. It has 8% of world’s natural gas reserves: 45 countries on the continent have oil reserves. It has 57% of the world’s cobalt, 47% of its diamonds, 49% of its manganese, 31% of its phosphate and 21% of its gold. Moreover, the continent has a tremendous potential for hydroelectric power, solar energy and geothermal energy.
By this reckoning, the African continent should be the realm of the richest countries and people. However, the truth is the exact opposite. Africa is the least developed continent in the world, having 34 of the 49 poorest countries. More than 40% of its population live on less than one dollar a day. Furthermore, Africa suffers from civil wars and terrorism.
Now, through free market innovation and the blockchain, Africa may soon see these wars and terrorism come to an end as its people begin to prosper and it’s partly thanks to one man’s desire to do good. This world needs more Akons.
About the Author
Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Agorist is also the Editor at Large at the Free Thought Project. Follow @MattAgorist on Twitter, Steemit, and now on Minds.