Senegal Abandons Akon's $6B Crypto City Project After 7-Year Delays Shifts to $1.2B Tourism Hub

Senegal has terminated Akon’s $6 billion cryptocurrency-powered city project, Akon City, after seven years of delays and unmet commitments. The West African nation, which had allocated 136 acres of land near the village of Mbodiène in 2020, is now reclaiming most of the area. The project, initially branded as a “real-life Wakanda” featuring solar-powered infrastructure, a hospital, university, and marina, has been deemed infeasible amid Senegal’s economic challenges. The national tourism development agency SAPCO confirmed in 2024 that “The Akon City project no longer exists” [1].

The cancellation follows repeated construction delays, missed payments, and a final ultimatum from SAPCO. Akon’s vision, launched in 2018, relied on his Akoin cryptocurrency as the backbone of the city’s economy. However, the token failed to gain widespread adoption, and the project’s tangible progress remained limited to a youth center, basketball court, and small welcome facility. Early investors in Akoin have since demanded refunds, while local residents expressed skepticism about unfulfilled promises.

Senegal’s decision reflects broader economic pressures. A state audit revealed $7 billion in hidden liabilities under the previous administration, straining access to international credit and freezing IMF funding. The revised plan, valued at $1.2 billion, will transform the site into a tourism hub with hotels, apartments, and a promenade linked to a nearby lagoon. Unlike the original crypto-focused blueprint, the new initiative prioritizes private investment and job creation. It aims to generate 15,000 jobs in its first phase, offering a practical alternative to the grandiose, technology-driven vision.

Akon retains 8 hectares of the original land for a scaled-down development, but the project’s legacy remains minimal. The failure of Akon City highlights the challenges of integrating speculative crypto ventures into national development strategies. Despite high-profile promotional efforts, the project’s execution lagged, and its reliance on unproven technology proved unsustainable in a resource-constrained environment. The shift to a tourism-focused model underscores the practicality of localized, job-creating initiatives over ambitious, celebrity-driven schemes.

The cancellation aligns with a global trend of reevaluating high-risk infrastructure projects. While Senegal’s government maintains optimism for the revised plan, the collapse of Akon City serves as a cautionary tale about the risks of overreliance on unproven technologies and celebrity-driven ventures. For Akon, the setback marks a rare misstep for the singer-entrepreneur, who previously leveraged pop culture to build a multifaceted brand. The remaining development on his retained land may yet yield modest returns, but the dream of a crypto-powered utopia in Mbodiène has firmly faded.

Source: [1] [Remember Akon’s Futuristic Crypto City? Here’s the Brutal Reality After 7 Years] [https://cryptopotato.com/remember-akons-futuristic-crypto-city-heres-the-brutal-reality-after-7-years/]