Among the oodles of altruistic, humanitarian acts of selflessness that the world has seen over its 12,000 or so years of civilized existence, Akon’s new foray into the world of cryptocurrency as a potential “savior for Africa” likely ranks somewhere between, I don’t know, Nelson Mandela’s lifelong fight against apartheid and my desultory habit to dish out change to random street peddlers.
Indeed, the “Smack That” superstar is apparently in the process of launching a new crypto coin called, understandably enough, “AKoin.” According to the official website, AKoin will be the economic foundation for a global “AKoin Ecosystem” that is dedicated to offer “an abundance of [platforms] to create opportunity and inclusion for youth entrepreneurs by allowing consumers to buy, hold, and spend cryptocurrency right from their smartphones.”
According to BBC, Akon wants the AKoin app on “on every smartphone” between now and the end of the year, and he has in fact already begun construction on Akon Crypto City, which is a 100% crypto-based ‘village’ located outside the Senegalese capital of Dakar (where Akon spent a good part of his childhood).
Truth be told, I (along with probably most people) don’t know a whole lot about cryptocurrency or how it works, but apparently it “Don’t Matter,” because neither does Akon:
“I come with the concepts and let the geeks figure it out,” he says. Nice. Spoken like a true entrepreneur (er, humanitarian).
Regardless of his self-professed ignorance on the technology, Akon seems to have no doubt that it will hold vast potential in terms of improving the ability for impoverished countries — particularly those in Africa — to gain a foothold in the world of digital entrepreneurship:
“I think that blockchain and crypto could be the savior for Africa in many ways, because it brings the power back to the people and brings the security back into the currency system.. and also allows the people to utilize it in ways where they can advance themselves and not allow government to do those things that are keeping them down.”
Very well put, Akon, very well put. Here’s to hoping it all works out.