Akon City was a highly-publicized, $6 billion smart city project envisioned by Senegalese-American singer and entrepreneur Akon, who aimed to create a “real-life Wakanda” near the village of Mbodiène, Senegal, that would be powered by renewable energy and use his own cryptocurrency, Akoin, as its central medium of exchange. Announced with great fanfare in 2018, the futuristic concept promised hospitals, a university, high-rise residential areas, and a business district, intending to serve as a beacon of African innovation and attract international investment.
However, despite the government’s allocation of 800 hectares of land, the project was plagued by funding issues, construction delays, and legal challenges related to its cryptocurrency model, ultimately failing to progress past a single, unfinished Welcome Center. In July 2025, the Senegalese government officially abandoned the ambitious plan, reclaiming the land to pursue a smaller, more “realistic” tourism-focused development, leaving Akon City as a cautionary tale about the complexities and execution pitfalls of celebrity-led, large-scale utopian development projects in Africa.
In projects of a similar scale, DRC has accorded land to the Vietnamese company Vingroup to develop the 6300 ha Kinshasa Riverfront Mega-Urban Project. This project is part of Kinshasa’s urban development strategy and one of the largest of its kind in the region. Also, the development is set to redefine urban development in the region.
Reported on August 14, 2024
The construction of West Africa’s futuristic city in Senegal is still shrouded in mystery as the government issues an ultimatum. Laying the foundation of the city four years ago, the single arched concrete block on a field in Senegal is the only progress that has been made in the city. The field was issued to R&B singer Akon, where he first laid the foundation stone for his $6 billion metropolis, Akon City. Senegal granted the artist 136 acres of land on its Atlantic Coast in 2020 to build his Akon City. Promising to be one of Senegal’s mega projects and one that would put the nation in the limelight, the project has never broken ground. Moreover, the Senegalese government is getting impatient and wants the artist to expedite his project.
The State of Affairs Regarding West Africa’s Futuristic City in Senegal
The construction of West Africa’s futuristic city in Senegal has been shrouded in controversy. Today, goats and cows graze the deserted pasture 60 miles south of Dakar, and authorities are growing increasingly impatient. For this reason, Sapco-Senegal has given Akon formal notice to start work on his project. The state-owned entity charged with developing the country’s coastal and tourism areas has noted that if this does not happen, the government will take back 90% of the land granted to him. Akon got the notice after missing several payments to Sapco, and two people familiar with the matter said. In addition to the luxury apartments and seaside resorts, Akon also envisioned hospitals, a police station, and a university equipped with cutting-edge technology. However, at the moment, the controversies that Akon City is imbued in seem to make the project seem infeasible. Furthermore, there have also been reimbursement complaints from displaced people. 
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The Scope of Development in Senegal’s Akon City
The construction of West Africa’s futuristic city in Senegal promised to be outstanding in Africa. Akon City was to be solar-powered and environmentally friendly, the artist said in 2020. Furthermore, residents and visitors would use the Akoin cryptocurrency launched that year. He also noted the city would be complete with condominiums, amusement parks, and a seaside resort with gravity-defying skyscrapers rising above the rural landscape. Akon City would run on solar power, and his Akoin cryptocurrency, the American-Senegalese singer said during a flashy presentation in Senegal’s capital, Dakar.
Local authorities were open to Akon’s promises to attract businesses and create jobs in an economically deprived, mostly agrarian part of Senegal. “Akon City would bring employment for our youth,” Mbodiene village chief Michel Diome said. “We would finally have a hospital and even a university.” In 2007, Akon founded Akon Lighting Africa, intending to distribute solar-powered solutions to off-grid parts of the continent. Akon City was his boldest idea yet and required getting former Senegalese president Macky Sall on board. Once a fierce believer in Akon’s plans for his community, Diome said his hopes that the singer would transform his community were dwindling.
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