Senegalese-American singer, Akon, has been awarded a $6 billion contract to build a city. Yes, a city. According to him, the first two phases of his project should be finished by 2029. Akon City will be run on renewable energy and his cryptocurrency - Akoin.

Where is Akon’s city going to be?

Although born in St. Louis, he spent a lot of his formative years in Senegal. His time spent there was so significant that he refers to the country in West Africa as his hometown. Akon City will be built on 200 acres of land in Senegal. This land was gifted to him by the President of Senegal, Macky Sall. It will also be located in very close proximity to the new international airport.

His goal is “to make the biggest impact in Africa" and believes that cryptocurrency could be its “saviour”. He even goes so far as to call his city a “real-life Wakanda”, the fictional city in the comic book and blockbuster Marvel Cinematic Universe film, Black Panther. All goods and service transactions can be made with Akoin through a smartphone app. The whitepaper for Akoin is also available to read.

This is also not the first time Akon has contributed to Africa. He co-founded the Konfidence Foundation, a health and education charity for underprivileged children in West Africa and the US in 2007. In 2014, he co-founded the Akon Lighting Africa project that has already brought solar power to various countries in Africa.

We here at CoolWallet are going to have to admit that Akon hasn’t been on our playlists in quite a while, however, hearing his name again brings back a lot of great memories! Seeing all the great work he’s done in Africa already certainly keeps us optimistic about what he has planned and we're glad to see him grow past his celebrity persona. A city run with cryptocurrency sounds like a place that we’ll definitely keep in our sights.