Akon to build second African crypto-city in Uganda

Uganda’s government has reportedly allocated land for Akon’s crypto-city development project in the country.

Senegalese-American rapper and businessperson Akon is set to begin building another crypto city — this time in the East African nation of Uganda.

According to a report by Uganda’s flagship television network NBS, the country’s government has announced the allocation of land for the project.

Akon City in Uganda will reportedly occupy one square mile half the size of the City of London (not to be confused with Greater London, which makes up the majority of the United Kingdom capital).

Akon is also building a much larger crypto city in Senegal for $6 billion, with the project covering 2,000 acres or about 3.12 square miles. Both futuristic cities will utilize Akon’s Stellar blockchain-based cryptocurrency Akoin (AKN).

Responding to questions about whether Uganda will be able to fund the crypto city developmental project, Akon responded:

“I know if I put it there, they are [Ugandans] are going to find a way to afford it because it’s going to motivate them […] Ultimately when you create an opportunity, people learn with that opportunity [and] people are motivated with that opportunity.”

VIDEO: Akon answers a question on whether Ugandans will be able to afford services in 'Akon City.'Akon is set to build the futuristic city in Uganda by 2036 after the government agreed to allocate him 1 square mile of land. #NBSUpdates pic.twitter.com/YDqqQ9cZhg

— NBS Television (@nbstv) April 5, 2021

Neither Akon nor the Ugandan government provided any information about the estimated cost of the city during the press conference announcing the project.

However, Akon stated that the crypto city will help to attract more investments to the country while also creating employment opportunities for Ugandans. Akon City in Uganda is expected to be completed by 2036.

Apart from crypto cities in two African nations, the Akoin project is also partnering with the $2-billion Mwale medical metropolis in Kenya. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, AKN is set for full deployment within the medical and tech city and will be used for staff salaries, as well as everyday payment transactions.

As part of the rollout, the Akoin team also debuted an AKN debit card that allows holders to spend Akoin across 40 million online merchants around the world.