Two-thirds of the budgeted $6 billion has been secured, according to builder KE International, but the only named investor is Julius Mwale – a tech entrepreneur who also invested in another “smart city” in Kenya. It will be stretched over 2,000 acres of coastal land acquired from the Senegalese government, run on a cryptocurrency named Akoin, and generate its electricity through Akon’s Lighting Africa project. Like Wakanda, Akon City aims to be technologically advanced, incorporating cutting-edge innovation into luxury resorts, high-rise apartments, recording studios, a stadium, and a helipad. “So if you’re coming from America or Europe or elsewhere in the diaspora and you feel that you want to visit Africa, we want Senegal to be your first stop.” And they only go through it because they feel that there is no other way,” Akon told reporters last year. “The system back home treats them unfairly in so many different ways that you can never imagine.
It will be the first of many smart cities in Africa, Akon has said, built in part for the Black diaspora. He first announced Akon City in 2018, in a shock to Mbodiène’s 6,000-strong population. In recent years, the R&B artist has added philanthropy to his portfolio, including a youth empowerment organization in Senegal, and a solar-energy nonprofit that operates across the continent. So why, and who, are they still fighting? Akon’s ambitionĪliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam was born in the U.S., but spent much of his childhood in Senegal before moving to New Jersey at age 11. He says it will boost Senegal’s economy and attract other foreign investments, including in tourism. Journalists have compared it to Wakanda in the blockbuster “Black Panther.” Others deride the project as an unrealistic stunt. The singer has called his city a refuge for the African diaspora, and “the beginning of Africa’s future”. And onto that backdrop, observers near and far have projected all sorts of visions, long before a single building goes up.
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Undulating rose-gold towers reach up toward the sky, their vast windows and curves reflecting the sea in front of them. In architects’ sketches, the unbuilt Senegalese city is a labyrinth of warped metal and glass, with miles of palm-lined roads – a scene from science fiction. Its success or failure will have real consequences – and for no one more than the people next door. It’s great to see him out there again.Akon City has been compared to Wakanda: the fictional city in “Black Panther” that captured imaginations, giving a much-needed revamp to images of Africa.
You try to shoot as hard as you can and he just makes it look so simple. “It’s incredibly frustrating shooting on him. “It’s always fun having him out there,” Marchand said. I think he had some fun, and I know the guys were excited to see him out there too.”īrad Marchand said some things never change about Rask. “I can’t tell as far as how close he is or not, but certainly looks good out there. “Just by watching him, he looked good,” Sacco said. Sacco stopped short of saying Rask looked ready. Rask, 34, isn’t under contract with the Bruins, but the team has left the door open for a possible return. “Brings the excitement level up a little bit there for the boys, so yes, it’s good to see him out there.” Rask underwent offseason hip surgery and has occasionally come to work out at Warrior Ice Arena throughout his rehab. The practice got an unexpected jolt when Tuukka Rask suited up and stepped between the pipes.
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