Veteran musician Akon is no stranger to investing in Africa. In 2020, he committed to invest $6 billion to build a futuristic pan-African city in his home country of Senegal. The Locked Up singer, who spent most of his childhood in the West African nation, said the city will use a cryptocurrency called AKoin.
Providing more details about the project, the musician told the Associated Press he hoped it would create jobs for locals in the West African nation as well as serve a “home back home” for Black Americans and other people in the diaspora who are being racially discriminated against.
“If nothing [else] happens, the city will be done and mentally people know that it’s something possible to do in Africa,” he recently said of Akon City, adding that he and his team are working under an estimated 10-year plan.
RELATED STORIES
It looks like Akon’s advocacy for Africa does not end at his futuristic pan-African city. He now wants African Americans to play lead roles in the economic growth of Africa. He wants them to strongly consider Africa as a destination for investment.
Speaking on REVOLT’s podcast “Assets Over Liabilities,” he pitched that Africa is “the holy grail” for freedom and generational wealth.
“Africa is in a position where if African Americans take position now, every single African American would be a millionaire without even thinking twice because there’s nothing that’s not needed over there. So, you guys come with the discipline, you guys come with the knowledge, you come with the resources,” Akon told hosts Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings.
Expanding on his point, he noted that blacks are playing critical roles in the economy of America and driving up revenue across all sectors such as sports, entertainment, fashion, and medicine.
“I mean, you name it. We’re leading in every single sector,” he said. “Just imagine if we all just decided to just take all our bags, withdrew all our money and go to Africa. Where would America be today? It would collapse overnight.”
Watch the full interview here:
