Remember Akon’s Futuristic Crypto City? Here’s the Brutal Reality After 7 Years

Key Points

1. Akon City, announced in 2018, aimed to build a $6 billion crypto-powered metropolis in Mbodiène but has been terminated by Senegal's tourism development body SAPCO.

2. The project, branded as a 'real-life Wakanda,' planned to include hotels, shopping malls, and a marina but saw limited progress, with only a youth center completed.

3. Most of the 136 acres granted to Akon in 2020 have been reclaimed by the state as part of a revised, smaller-scale tourism plan.

4. Senegal's decision comes amid a deepening debt crisis and frozen IMF funding, prompting a shift to a more feasible $1.2 billion tourism project.

5. The new plan is expected to create around 15,000 jobs in its first phase, offering local investment and employment opportunities.