Akon's futuristic $6bn city project in Senegal abandoned, BBC told
"The Akon City project no longer exists," Serigne Mamadou Mboup, the head of Senegal's tourism development body, Sapco, told the BBC.
"Fortunately, an agreement has been reached between Sapco and the entrepreneur Alioune Badara Thiam [aka Akon]. What he's preparing with us is a realistic project, which Sapco will fully support."
Known for his string of noughties chart hits, Akon - who was born in the US but partly raised in Senegal - announced two ambitious projects in 2018 that were supposed to represent the future of African society.
The first was Akon City - reportedly costed at $6bn (£5bn). It was to run on the second initiative - a brand new cryptocurrency called Akoin.
Initial designs for Akon City, with its boldly curvaceous skyscrapers, were compared by commentators to the awe-inspiring fictional city of Wakanda in Marvel's Black Panther films and comic books.
But after five years of setbacks, the 800-hectare site in Mbodiène - about 100km (60 miles) south of the capital, Dakar - remains mostly empty. The only structure is an incomplete reception building. There are no roads, no housing, no power grid.
"We were promised jobs and development," one local resident told the BBC. "Instead, nothing has changed."
Meanwhile the star's Akoin cryptocurrency has struggle to repay its investors over the years, with Akon himself conceding: "It wasn't being managed properly - I take full responsibility for that."
There had also been questions over whether it would even be legal for Akoin to operate as the primary payment method at Akon City. Senegal uses the CFA franc, which is regulated and issued by the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), and like many central banks has expressed opposition to cryptocurrency.
The plans for Akon City had been sweeping.
Phase one alone was to include a hospital, a shopping mall, a school, a police station, a waste centre, and a solar plant - all by the end of 2023.
Sitting on Senegal's Atlantic Coast, Akon's high-tech, eco-friendly city was supposed to run entirely on renewable energy.
But despite Akon's insistence in a 2022 BBC interview that the project was "100,000% moving", no significant construction followed the initial launch ceremony.
Now the Senegalese government has confirmed what many suspected - the project had stalled beyond recovery. Officials cited a lack of funding and halted construction efforts as key reasons for the decision.
Although Akon City as it was originally imagined has been shelved, the government says it is now working with Akon on a more "realistic" development project for the same site.
The land near Mbodiène remains of high strategic value, especially with the 2026 Youth Olympic Games approaching and increased tourism activity expected.
Akon's Wakanda, grazing goats and a crumbling crypto dream
Born in France but searching for a future in Africa
US basketball training for Senegal cancelled after visas rejected
Senegal starts producing oil as president promises benefits
Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
Focus on Africa
This Is Africa
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Yahoo
Roblox Game-Buying Frenzy Is Turning Teens Into Millionaires
(Bloomberg) -- The creator of Blue Lock: Rivals thought kids on Roblox might like a soccer video game with an anime vibe. It sold a few months later for more than $3 million. Singer Akon's Failed Futuristic City in Senegal Ends Up a $1 Billion Resort Why Did Cars Get So Hard to See Out Of? Are Tourists Ruining Europe? How Locals Are Pushing Back Can Americans Just Stop Building New Highways? How German Cities Are Rethinking Women's Safety — With Taxis The 19-year-old, who asked that his name be withheld because he has never shared it publicly, made the game in just three months with the help of co-developers. It attracted more than 1 million simultaneous players following its release last year, he said, generating $5 million a month in purchases for Roblox Corp., the popular gaming platform. Do Big Studios, an owner of other Roblox games that had helped develop Blue Lock: Rivals, bought the game in March, delivering a hefty payout to its teen owner. Like YouTube, Roblox started two decades ago as an online stage for young creators. Video-game lovers could use the service's tools to develop inexpensive, low-resolution entertainment. Now, as the company grows toward 100 million active daily users, contributors are finding there's money to be had in selling the games they've created, with buyers prepared to pay seven or even eight figures. 'We've seen a real shift in Roblox's ecosystem,' said David Taylor, senior consultant at the video-game-analytics firm Naavik. In June, seven of the 15 highest-earning games on Roblox had been acquired from their original owners, according to his research. The shift has been spawned in part by policy changes at Roblox. A December update to the service lets players easily transfer game ownership. Previously, Roblox said such sales were against its terms of service and community guidelines. A company spokesperson added that Roblox isn't currently participating in secondary-market transactions. Do Big has been scooping up other titles, including Roblox's biggest hit ever. In May, the company bought a stake in Grow a Garden, currently the most popular game on Roblox, for an undisclosed sum. The farming title broke records in late June, when it attracted over 21 million simultaneous players — more than Fortnite from Epic Games Inc. Another Roblox game company, Splitting Point, had taken it over the prior month from an anonymous teenage developer for an undisclosed sum. Representatives of Do Big didn't respond to a request for comment. In February, an anonymous developer sold Roblox's then-most popular game Brookhaven RP to Voldex Entertainment Ltd. Voldex's founder and chief executive officer, Alex Singer, said the deal, with financing arranged by Raine Group and Shamrock Capital, was 'bigger' than the reported sum that Embracer Group AB paid for Roblox's Welcome to Bloxburg in 2022, though he declined to be more specific. 'When there are more dollars paid out to creators, it attracts more people,' said Singer, 24. A report at the time put the Welcome to Bloxburg sale price at $100 million, though officials at Embracer said it was less. According to Roblox, the company's top 10 developers earned $36 million each in the 12 months through March. The San Mateo, California-based company may pay out more than $1 billion in total to creators for the first time this year. In 2023, CEO Dave Baszucki predicted that by 2028 a Roblox developer will be valued at $1 billion. Over a dozen companies buy, develop and sometimes flip Roblox games. Much of the activity is conducted over the chat app Discord, according to Connor Richards, a lawyer with Odin Law & Media who's been involved in a dozen deals. He's seen minors earn a few hundred thousand dollars from these deals. Another technology lawyer, Adam Starr, said he's facilitated about 20 Roblox deals over the last year and is receiving more inquiries than ever. The developers often opt to remain anonymous. Voldex's first major acquisitions, Driving Empire and Ultimate Football, cost the company seven figures, Singer said. A subsequent agreement with the NFL allowing the company to rename the property NFL Universe Football helped grow its audience. 'We've been able to sustain our communities and games and grow them while keeping players happy,' Singer said. 'That's really important.' He'll assign a team of programmers to analyze and improve a game, often alongside the original creator. Roblox games rise and fall with kids' whims. A paintball simulator might die off after another creator publishes a Roblox clone of Ubisoft Entertainment SA's Rainbow 6 Siege. Only the rare game remains popular for months or years. Creators who know this will sometimes sell their games at a price equal to just one or two months' revenue. Others go for 12 months' worth of sales, according to Naavik's Taylor. Independent game developers also trade their art or programming work for a share of game ownership. 'Roblox is very capitalist,' Voldex's Singer said. The company 'wants creators to be economically successful.' Trump's Cuts Are Making Federal Data Disappear Will Trade War Make South India the Next Manufacturing Hub? 'Our Goal Is to Get Their Money': Inside a Firm Charged With Scamming Writers for Millions Soccer Players Are Being Seriously Overworked 'Telecom Is the New Tequila': Behind the Celebrity Wireless Boom ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Yahoo
Trump's Talk With Senegal's President Took A Weird Turn. Then Trump Made It Even Weirder.
Donald Trump's toe-curling exchange with Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye lit up social media on Wednesday. Faye lavished praise on the U.S. president during a White House meeting with a group of African leaders. He complimented Trump's leadership skills — and his golf game — and pitched a potential Trump-branded golf course in Senegal. 'I was wondering what your secret was for resolving all these complex crises?' Faye flatteringly asked Trump. 'And I know you are a tremendous golf player. Golf requires concentration and precision, qualities that also make for a great leader.' Then came the harder sell: 'Senegal has exceptional opportunities to offer, including in the area of tourism. So, perhaps an investment could be made in a golf course in Senegal? It would just be six hours by flight from New York, from Miami, from Europe or from the Gulf and that would be an opportunity for you to show off your skills on the golf course too. Thank you for your attention, sir.' Trump appeared visibly pleased. 'Nice, somewhere to show off my skills,' he replied. 'It's a long trip to show off my skill, but that's very nice.' The moment then got stranger as Trump, in typical fashion, pivoted to off-script commentary about Faye's appearance. 'He's led a very interesting life,' Trump said. 'He looks like a very young person — he's a little older than he looks — but a fantastic job. He was treated very unfairly by his government and he prevailed, and so congratulations on that.' The flattery, sales pitch and awkward Trump monologue raised eyebrows online: OOPS!! Stephen Miller's Fox News Glitch Goes Viral For Most Poetic Reason Trump's Latest 'Golden Age' Move Is Wired For Chaos, Critics Fume Lawrence O'Donnell Points To 5 Words From Trump As The Brutal 'Truth' Of His Presidency
Business Insider
09-07-2025
- Business Insider
Senegal scraps Akon's $6 billion city project for $1.2 billion state-backed tourism hub
Senegal has officially cancelled R&B singer Akon's ambitious plans to build a multibillion-dollar city along the country's Atlantic coast, replacing it with a more modest, privately funded development in light of economic pressures. Senegal has canceled Akon's proposed Akon City project due to insufficient progress and financial complications. Akon City was intended to be a $6 billion futuristic smart city transforming Mbodiène into a tech hub. The land initially allocated for Akon City will now host a $1.2 billion scaled-back tourism development managed by Sapco. Senegal has officially cancelled R&B singer Akon's ambitious plans to build a multibillion-dollar city along the country's Atlantic coast, replacing it with a more modest, privately funded development in light of economic pressures. In 2020, Senegal granted Akon 136 acres of land to build his ambitious 'Akon City', a futuristic smart city envisioned to transform the quiet farming village of Mbodiène into a tech-driven urban hub. Last August, Akon received a final formal notice from the Senegalese government to commence construction on his proposed $6 billion futuristic city or risk losing the land. The notice followed missed payments to Sapco, the state-owned agency tasked with developing coastal and tourism zones. Now, the government has reclaimed most of the land originally allocated for the project inspired by Marvel's fictional Wakanda after little progress was made, according to Bloomberg. 'That project no longer exists,' said Serigne Mamadou Mboup, head of Sapco-Senegal, the state agency responsible for developing coastal and tourism zones, in comments to Senegal's national press agency. The land will now be used for a scaled-back project led by Sapco, Senegal's coastal development agency, which plans to invest 665 billion CFA francs ($1.2 billion) to transform the area into a major tourism hub. Funding amid fiscal strain The government expects to raise 600 billion CFA francs from private investors, with the remaining 65 billion CFA francs to come from state funds. However, Senegal's recent debt crisis, following the discovery of $7 billion in previously undisclosed liabilities, could pose challenges for fundraising. Akon will retain 8 hectares of land, which will be integrated into a broader 500-hectare development backed by Sapco. Despite the downsized scope, authorities say the new project will still deliver some of the benefits originally promised. Sapco estimates that the first phase could generate around 15,000 jobs, offering much-needed economic momentum for Mbodiène and nearby communities.
