(CNN) – Award-winning R&B singer Akon is moving ahead with ambitious plans to create a “futuristic” city in Senegal, saying the high-tech nation, introduced in the Marvel blockbuster “Black Panther”, will be a real-life version of Wakanda.
Senegal’s Minister of Tourism Aluan Sir, and other government officials were also present, “he said at the ceremony. “Our idea is to create a futuristic city that incorporates all the latest technologies, cryptocurrencies and how African society should be in the future.”
Cryptocurrency
Unlike other cryptocurrencies linked to static currencies, the Acoin cellphone is bound in minutes and depends on the use of the smartphone.
According to the singer, more people in Africa trust their local cellphone companies more than they trust local currency.
“We want to be able to fight corruption only through blockchain and I think starting with currency is the biggest thing. The main thing they (Africans) will be able to achieve is freedom and I think in a position to create your own situation.” Financial decisions are key, ”he said.
However, Akoi has faced criticism and questions about how it works in low-income countries with low access to smartphones or data.
Job creation
Akon told a news conference that work on his city would begin in 2021.
Cello / AFP / Getty Images
“I want to create a city or a project like this that will inspire them (African Americans) to know that home is home … the system back home (in the US) treats them unfairly in so many different ways.” Ways that you can never imagine and they just go through it because they think there is no other way.
He added that his hope is that Senegal will become a tourist destination in Africa as a result of the city of Akon.
“Whether you’re coming from America or Europe, anywhere in the diaspora and you feel like you want to visit Africa, we want Senegal to be your first stop,” he says.
Senegalese Tourism Minister Aloun Sir welcomed Akon’s decision to invest in the country at a time when the Kovid-19 epidemic is affecting the country’s economy.
“At a time when national and international private investments are scarce, Akon, you have chosen to come to Senegal and invest billions of dollars in the coming years,” Surrey said.
This is not Akon’s first major investment on the continent. In recent years, the entertainer has signed on to big deals in Africa.
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