Senegal Cancels Akon’s $6 Billion ‘Akon City’ Project

• Senegal has canceled Akon’s $6 billion plan to build a futuristic “Akon City” on the Atlantic coast due to years of inaction and missed payments.

• In 2020, a tech-driven smart city was announced, aiming to transform Mbodiène village into a modern hub powered by solar energy and Akon’s cryptocurrency.

Senegal has officially pulled the plug on Akon’s ambitious $6 billion plan to build a futuristic smart city along its Atlantic coast, citing prolonged delays and unmet financial obligations from the Senegalese-American artist and entrepreneur.

Originally unveiled in 2020, Akon City was envisioned as a high-tech, eco-friendly metropolis inspired by the fictional African kingdom of Wakanda from Marvel’s Black Panther. The city promised innovation driven by solar energy and Akon’s own cryptocurrency, Akoin, and was set to transform the quiet village of Mbodiène into a global tourism and tech destination.

However, five years later, with no visible progress on the ground, Senegalese authorities have revoked most of the 136 acres of land initially allocated for the project.

“That project no longer exists,” said Serigne Mamadou Mboup, head of Sapco-Senegal, the government agency tasked with developing the country’s coastal and tourism zones.

According to Bloomberg, the Senegalese government now plans to move forward with a scaled-down, state-led tourism project in the same location, backed primarily by private investors and budgeted at approximately 665 billion CFA francs (around $1.2 billion).

Akon will reportedly retain just 8 hectares of the original land grant, which will now be incorporated into the broader government-backed development.

The announcement has sparked disappointment among some who once saw Akon City as a symbol of pan-African ambition and technological advancement. Akon had previously promoted the project as a way to create jobs, drive tourism, and empower Africans through innovation though critics have long questioned its feasibility.

As of now, Senegal appears ready to move forward with a more grounded plan one that may finally bring development to Mbodiène, albeit without the glow of a Wakanda-style skyline.