Akon to build second futuristic city in Uganda
The Ugandan government has given Akon one square mile to create a second Akon City.
Akon will soon have yet another African city that bears his name.
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The rapper-turned-business mogul is working to develop a futuristic city in the African country of Uganda. The announcement was made with NBS Uganda on Monday, per Complex.
The Ugandan government has given Akon one square mile to create Akon City. The exact details are slim but it plans to operate on AKoin stellar-based cryptocurrency and is slated to be completed by 2036.
“I know if I put it there, they’re going to find a way to afford it because it’s going to motivate them,” Akon said when asked about the price tag of the project. “But ultimately when you create an opportunity, people grow with that opportunity, people learn with that opportunity, people are motivated with that opportunity.”
The city is expected to mirror Akon’s development in his home nation of Senegal which will also operate on his cryptocurrency and cost about $6B to construct.
It includes a Hamptons Hospital campus, parks, stadiums, police department, and a waste management system. Construction of the city in Senegal begins this year and is expected to be completed in the next three years.
As per theGrio, The Weeknd is also contributing to an African nation.
He donated $1M to hunger relief efforts in Ethiopia, writing that his “heart breaks” for the innocent civilians.
The conflict between the government in Addis Ababa and the Tigray region has been ongoing for months now. Described by the Biden administration as a “deepening humanitarian crisis,” the conflict has led to thousands of deaths and the displacement of two million people and counting.
Born Abel Tesfaye in Toronto, Canada, the Weeknd is the son of Ethiopian immigrants, Makkonen and Samra Tesfaye.
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Fresh off his highly rated Super Bowl performance, he’s using his platform to share awareness of this ongoing conflict and is donating money to relief efforts in support.
The “After Hours” singer wrote in his Instagram post, “My heart breaks for my people of Ethiopia as innocent civilians ranging from small children to the elderly are being senselessly murdered and entire villages are being displaced out of fear and destruction.”
The singer continued, “I will be donating $1 million to provide 2 million meals through the United Nations World Food Programme and encourage those who can to please give as well.”
This is not the first time The Weeknd has used his platform for charitable efforts. In 2020 alone, the singer made several large donations to COVID-19 relief, victims of the explosion in Beirut, and to specific organizations supporting racial inequity, including the Know Your Rights Camp Legal Defense Initiative.
Last June, he similarly used his Instagram to highlight the organizations he was donating to. Posting screenshots of his hefty donation receipts, he wrote in the caption, “Keep supporting our brothers and sisters out there risking everything to push for actual change for our Black lives. Urging everyone with big pockets to give and give big and if you have less please give what you can even if it’s a small amount.”
Additional reporting by Jared Alexander
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