Rapper Akon officially owns a city in Senegal that is named after himself and has its own economy based around his very own cryptocurrency called AKoin.
The Missouri-born producer, who is of Senegalese descent, announced he had “finalised agreement” on the city via his Twitter page.
“Look forward to hosting you there in the future,” the artist behind songs “Lonely” and “Smack That” told his fans.
The music artist and entrepreneur previously revealed details about the place – officially called Akon Crypto City – on a panel called Branding Africa: Blockchain, Entrepreneurship and Empowering the Future at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in 2018.
The city was described as a “real-life Wakanda,” which refers to the high-tech nation ruled by King T’Challa in Marvel’s Oscar-winning film Black Panther.
Akon built it on a 2,000-acre land that was gifted to him by the President of Senegal, Macky Sall.
It’s stationed “within five minutes of the new international airport, close to the coast and a short drive from Dakar, the capital city of Senegal.”
While some might be sceptical of Akon’s plans, his charity Akon Lighting Africa – which helps sort financing for solar panels and smaller lighting projects – moved to 17 African countries in its first two years of operation and currently claims it has projects in 25 nations.
Akon Lighting Africa has earned recognition by the UN and has also won awards.
in 2017, the organisation secured a $1bn credit line.
