Akoin’s global expansion continues in Senegal and throughout the African continent through its growth of the Akoin Wallet and global exchange listings with Bittrex Global and now BitMart. Akoin’s global expansion continues in Senegal and throughout the African continent through its growth of the Akoin Wallet and global exchange listings with Bittrex Global and now BitMart. When buying or transacting with Akoin you must keep in mind that the token is not a security with any expectations of profit, but rather a utility token meant to be used within the Akoin ecosystem. Yes, beyond our initial exchange partner we plan on acquiring listings across several top volume exchanges. We are working hand in hand with Stellar to ensure all technological and developmental best practices are met. Karas, on the other hand, described the likely initial residents as business owners, businesspeople, and “a certain number of Europeans looking for a vacation spot.” And Akon said he could see “more of the elite local Senegalese living there first before the middle class.”
Mapping Africa: Akoin & UNL
And in 2017, Arthur Ntozi, a Ugandan tech entrepreneur, sued Mwale, alleging he failed to repay a $50,000 loan. Previous reports that the president gifted Akon the 2,000-acre plot of land for the city were incorrect, Karas said. Karas said he could not provide documentation verifying the land deal because it was confidential. Paul Martin, KE International’s project manager for Akon City, talked about using advanced tech — blockchain, artificial intelligence, and the like — for job growth.
Real World Application
Picture it as, for better or worse, an all-encompassing expansion of America’s gig economy side-hustling that runs entirely on a proprietary currency. The Akoin marketplace aims to be the market leader for DApp-based services in lean economies, with a heavy focus on Africa. Working alongside industry leading technical, business and marketing partners, the Akoin marketplace will support a suite of cutting edge decentralized applications (DApps) to the benefit of entrepreneurs in Africa and globally. Akoin is a Stellar-based cryptocurrency designed to fuel rising entrepreneurs in Africa and beyond.
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We also gather additional information from different sources to ensure we cover all necessary data or events. Ironically, Akon’s lofty promises and lack of concern with the details that make plans like these come to fruition are reminiscent of the politician he’s most vehemently critical of, Donald Trump. On top of his myriad projects in Africa, the artist has floated the idea of challenging the incumbent in 2020. When asked if he would still be able to pursue these political aspirations while AKoin and its crypto city were in their formative years, the singer said it would be hard to ignore the call to serve his home country.
AKN Price Statistics
- Started with a $1 billion line of credit from Chinese investors China Jiangsu International, the program trains local engineers to install and maintain solar-based decentralized electrical grids in their communities.
- We aim to use a model that is prevalent in developed countries, and one that can become a leading source of financial support for businesses in developing markets.
- In interviews with key players in the project and experts in the tech and sustainable-development fields in Africa, Business Insider delved into how this project is playing out.
- Our partnership with Mwale Medical and Technology Center establishes Akoin as the central currency and payment processor for this burgeoning tech and medical hub in Kenya, to be used for all daily life activities for individuals, merchants and enterprises through the city.
- Karas said he could not provide documentation verifying the land deal because it was confidential.
Even if they wanted to make bets on fluctuating currency values across their continent, 62% of Sub-Saharan Africans have no access to a bank account. Land ownership, titling, and records management is a prevailing issue in developing countries. Akoin has partnered with a leader in land governance that uses blockchain and other technologies to provide user-friendly, low-cost land administration systems. Our goal is to promote economic development and the full financial inclusion of all parties by helping individuals in developing countries establish formal ownership of their property. Current prepaid minute vendors, as well as consumers, can apply to join the Trusted Agent Network (TAN) to become what we like to affectionately call our Human ATM network by offering ‘cash-out’ services and providing micro-loans to people in their local community.
BitMart Exchange is a premier global digital assets trading platform with over 5.5 million registered users worldwide and ranked among the top crypto exchanges on CoinGecko. BitMart currently offers 600+ trading pairs with one of the lowest trading fees in the market. To learn more about BitMart, visit their website, follow their Twitter, or join their Telegram for more updated news and promotions. BitMart Exchange is a premier global digital assets trading platform with over 5.5 million registered users worldwide and ranked among the top crypto exchanges on CoinGecko.
To learn more about BitMart, visit their website, follow their Twitter, or join their Telegram for more updated news and promotions. BitMinutes (BMT) is the first Dapp partner being offered through the Akoin Dapp Marketplace. Through our partnership with BMT, users in Africa are able to move in and out of the Akoin ecosystem via prepaid cellphone minutes, fiat currency, or cryptocurrency.
You can store coins on exchanges after purchase but we recommend using a dedicated wallet for security and long term storage. They are the best choice for those storing a lot of value or planning to hold long term. Buy & sell Akoin (AKN) with fiat currencies (USD, CAD, AUD, EUR, GBP etc) or another coin such as BTC or ETH. The Akoin price page is just one in Crypto.com Price Index that features price history, price ticker, market cap, and live charts for the top cryptocurrencies.
Akon is also the visionary behind Akon City, a sustainable and eco-tourism smart city in development in Senegal, Africa where Akoin will be the central currency. Akoin, which Akon said could be used with either “a smartphone or a dumb phone,” will allow users to convert their unused prepaid mobile minutes to Akoin. Akoin can also be converted into government-issued currency outside Africa, as well as other established cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, he said. In terms of what the Akoin utility token offers purchasers, there are multiple different aspects to consider. The Akoin token can be used across all of our platforms, functions and services, representing a central part of the Akoin ecosystem.
There are plans for residents to be able to use Akoin to pay for the tram, basic utilities, business licenses, and even their taxes. And if Akon has his way, this will be the first of several more Akon-branded smart cities throughout Africa. Akoin, by visionary global artist and philanthropist Akon, aims to unlock the potential of Sub-Saharan Africa, the world’s largest emerging economy, using a revolutionary cryptocurrency banking platform.
Sub-Saharan Africans are mostly under the age of 25 and have 2 cell phones per person on average. ⚠Trading cryptocurrencies involves risk, and may not be suitable for all investors. Cryptocurrency prices can be volatile and unpredictable, and may be influenced by various factors, including market manipulation, regulatory changes, and technological developments. But experts in sustainable development and smart cities, as well as leaders in the local tech scene, agree that Akon should include the community in the development process, rather than wait for the working class to trickle into Akon City after the elite crowd settles in. However, even if Sub-Saharan Africans work diligently on fantastic business ideas, they face a variety of significant obstacles. Collaborating across borders is difficult because territories use 54+ different currencies with varying exchange rates.
They were surrounded by media, local politicians, members of Senegal’s tourism agency, and residents of Mbodiene, the coastal village of fewer than 3,000 people that sits closest to the site. Mwale is a benefactor with a mysterious past and a history of being sued over allegations that he didn’t pay his debts. A former Kenya Air Force soldier, Mwale left the country in 2000 under “unclear circumstances” and sought asylum in the US, according to Capital FM, a Kenyan radio station. Mwale told the outlet in 2009 that he was “forced to flee the country” after a disagreement with government authorities over the technology research he worked on in the military.
And a proposed “Silicon Savannah” in Kenya is struggling because of “grandiose plans, red tape and a lack of funding,” VOA News reported last year. In interviews with key players in the project and experts in the tech and sustainable-development fields in Africa, Business Insider delved into how this project is playing out. What we found is that Akon is helming a $6 billion project that teeters largely on a single named investor’s backing — one who has a history of lawsuits on file regarding unpaid debts. And while several of the most prominent people involved in the city’s development — including Akon — tout the city as a future job generator for locals, none were able to lay out a plan for how exactly locals would benefit from the construction of this gleaming giant. His first major effort came in 2014 with the founding of Akon Lighting Africa (ALA), a solar energy initiative that seeks to deliver electricity to the more than 600 million Africans living without it. Started with a $1 billion line of credit from Chinese investors China Jiangsu International, the program trains local engineers to install and maintain solar-based decentralized electrical grids in their communities.
The token allows users to transition in and out of the Akoin ecosystem, and through it, in or out of the cryptocurrency world. Yes, our MVP includes the Atomic Swap functionality, the ability to exchange prepaid minutes for cryptocurrency (and vise versa), https://forexbitcoin.info/ and the multi-currency decentralized wallet. The Akoin Multi-Currency Wallet is the native Akoin wallet that allows users to trade amongst partnered cryptocurrencies internally without facing major hurdles and fees often found with exchanges.
Akon told Business Insider Senegal’s president and minister of tourism have been the main government entities involved in the project so far but that other ministers would come on board later. Business Insider made multiple attempts to reach both the president and the minister of tourism but did not receive a response by the time of publication. The cryptocurrency’s white paper points to a 2019 report that estimated Africa would have 623 million mobile-phone users by 2025 — about half the population. “We started spending some time together. We liked each other … We found out we believe in many of the same things, which is social impact, the power to make the world a better place, the rise of Africa, and rising economies generally.” The 2,000-acre waterfront oasis is being designed to serve as a hub for business and tourism, and the renderings are the stuff of science fiction. Akon City’s official website depicts a futuristic metropolis filled with gleaming twisting skyscrapers and palm trees.
The Akoin Ecosystem provides token holders with access to a wide range of decentralized apps (DApps) and apps, and tools for entrepreneurs to connect, engage and scale business in regions such as Africa, while providing a positive social impact to their communities. The Akoin Ecosystem will provide token holders with access to a wide range of decentralized apps (dApps) and apps, and tools for entrepreneurs to connect, engage and scale business in regions such as Africa, while providing a positive social impact to their communities. Entrepreneurs in Africa are held back by spiraling inflation, unsupportive government regulation, widespread corruption, and a lack of access to business tools and training. Those conditions are challenging, but it makes Sub-Saharan Africa the perfect place to implement the future of banking. We want to empower Africa with a single uniting currency on a secure platform that tracks economic, trade, and social data to give everyone the potential to securely develop the businesses, and lives, of their dreams. Based on the foundation of blockchain technology, Akoin will create a model economy in pursuit of efficiency.
AKoins creators hope the currency will eventually serve as a premiere crypto-crowdfunding platform. Provides a more trusted currency alternative that enables entrepreneurs to build and grow their business. A Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum selling artist, producer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. “In my research, as far as what I needed in the time that I needed, I could not find one fast enough.” The next day, Akon met with Sall at the Presidential Palace in Dakar to present plans for the city.
This exchange is enabled through a proprietary and private Atomic Swap technology that makes direct transfer with all major cryptocurrencies, our Partners’ alt currencies possible, without having to go through a major exchange. The Multi-Currency Wallet exists within the Dapp Marketplace as one of its functions. Akoin is in the process of onboarding a best of breed DApp partner to provide crowdfunding tools and services that aim to support and spur investments. We aim to use a model that is prevalent in developed countries, and one that can become a leading source of financial support for businesses in developing markets.
Akoin will be used as a common medium of transfer between Africa’s 54 countries (each with its own volatile currency). Allowing African citizens and entrepreneurs to engage with the digital economy with only a mobile phone. Akoin will be the central currency of Akon City, a sustainable and eco-tourism smart city in Senegal, Africa. Akon City blends leading smart city planning designs with a blank canvas for integrating blockchain into our daily human and business exchanges, all with the goal of inventing a radical new way of existence. As part of the blockchain design of this smart city, Akoin, Inc. has a letter of intent with Akon and Akon City committing to the usage of Akoin as the central currency.
Akoin offers unparalleled access and expansion for global brands and applications seeking an entry-point to the market; including brand activation campaigns, DApp/App integration, launch and expansion planning, and foundation partnerships. Each DApp/App partner is vetted and integrated by the Akoin team into the marketplace to ensure the highest level of quality partnered service offerings are available within the Akoin marketplace. Africa could indeed be an ideal place to develop smart cities because its booming young population is more likely to adopt the technology, according to a 2016 report by the consulting firm Deloitte. The continent is also home to a growing young population that’s hungry for jobs in cities.
ALA has already been implemented in 15 countries with plans to increase that number to 48 by 2020. Unfortunately, exact figures for the program’s efficacy and reach are in short supply, but the program claims to already have covered 480 communities and erected over 100,000 solar street lamps. Akoin will be the central currency of Akon city, a sustainable and eco-tourism smart city in Senegal, Africa. And while KE International’s Martin stressed that one of project’s major goals was to create jobs for the community, Akon City’s developers have shared few specifics on how they’re involving local entrepreneurs in the creation of the city.
On our digital application platform, the Dapp marketplace, users will be able to save money, pay utilities or other users, develop skills on educational applications, apply or hire for jobs, request loans, market goods and services, or create new Dapp marketplace applications. It is committed to bringing a trusted and interoperable digital currency to countries within Africa which suffer from weak and over-inflated fiat currencies that prevent citizens from accessing financial services. The proprietary Atomic Swap technology allows users to seamlessly exchange cryptocurrencies, prepaid minutes, and fiat currencies.
Renderings of the city show gleaming structures that twist and curve without a single sharp edge in sight. Some social-media users have chimed in to say that Akon Tower resembles a sex toy. Akon Tower, on the other hand — the proposed centerpiece of Akon City — would stand at nearly 985 feet, making it the tallest building in Senegal by far.
Which allows users to transition between applications within the Dapp marketplace, and in-out of the network itself— all without the use of an exchange as an intermediary. The swap functionality happens internally within a users decentralized wallet, and as thus reduces the fees and time necessary. African critics of the Asian superpower claim that the Chinese government is exploiting Africans for their cheap labor so as to create supply chain infrastructure to export sub-market value natural resources under the auspices of altruistically helping underdeveloped nations. But as a recent Washington Post article pointed out, such fears might be overblown and political posturing masking a much more benign and mutually beneficial relationship. Further to that point, Akon has been hesitant to get into the weeds about AKoin’s hard numbers.
“It was just the how and what, and having the team and resources to pull off such a massive undertaking.” There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. To check Akoin’s price live in the fiat currency of your choice, you can use Crypto.com’s converter feature in the top-right corner of this page. If you still think of Akon as that R&B singer from the aughts who sang “Smack That” and got in trouble for dry-humping an underage girl on stage, you’re woefully behind the times.
The key players of Akon City also don’t seem to agree on whom exactly the city is being built for. According to Bakri, the city will be open to everyone, from janitors to engineers to Hollywood stars. Martin, KE International’s project manager for Akon City, said 30% of the city’s housing would be affordable to “the lower half of the wage market.” According to the press release, KE International helped secure an initial $4 billion in investment for the city from “leaders in the healthcare and technology infrastructure industries,” including Julius Mwale, the Kenyan technology entrepreneur behind MMTC. One key step in moving plans for Akon City forward was getting the backing of the Senegalese government, which Karas said was a “multiyear process.” Over the course of multiple conversations with Business Insider, Karas reiterated that Akon City has the support of Senegalese President Macky Sall.
Another person familiar with the project, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak about the finances, told Business Insider the total cost of building Akon City could very well end up being “double” the budgeted $6 billion. Karas, who was previously involved in real-estate-development projects in New York City, acknowledged that many major development projects end up costing more than initially planned. In March 2012, a New York court ordered Mwale and SBA Technologies — alongside another defendant, Fiona Graham — to pay more than $325,000 to two women who sued Mwale and Graham for what they alleged was a fraudulent loan. In 2015, a New York court ordered Mwale to pay more than $209,000 to the former landlord of his Manhattan office after Mwale was accused of failing to pay rent and other bills for nearly a year.
One of the key players in this ambitious endeavor is Akon’s business partner Jon Karas, a former Hollywood producer. Karas is the president and cofounder of Akoin and the CEO and cofounder of Akon Legacy Ventures, Akon’s business entity that encompasses his other pursuits. Flash-forward to 2020, and Akon’s music may no longer be blasting from teenage girls’ cars, but the singer has been far from inactive. He’s pivoted from churning out hip-hop and R&B hits to carving out a new identity as a tech entrepreneur in Africa. Regulations governing cryptocurrencies vary by jurisdiction and may change over time, which could impact the legality and use of cryptocurrencies.
Whenever a transaction takes place, it’s with Akoin, cementing the token as the main means of transferring value and making purchases across all of the ecosystem’s platforms, functions and services. Partners will need to use the Akoin utility token as the means to pay for their activity, whether it’d be a developer listing a dApp or a global brand looking to create marketing campaigns. In short, Akoin represents the lion share of transactional activity within the entire ecosystem, being the mandatory payment vehicle for a great deal of activities that can be undertaken by users. The Akoin token will allow users to utilize a suite of crypto-based digital services to circumvent the barriers they currently face, ushering in a new wave of tech-enabled entrepreneurs and businesses in Africa. The Akoin platform and trusted currency will leapfrog traditional banking and service platforms to help young entrepreneurs in Africa’s 54 countries overcome challenges of inflation, government regulation and lack of access to world-class business tools and services. Akoin seeks to minimize the barriers to entry for young entrepreneurs and small businesses in Africa, while simultaneously providing access to this demographic to global brands currently struggling to do business in rising economies.
Since retiring from music back in 2010, the St. Louis born and Senegal raised musician has been spending a great deal of his time in Africa, working on bringing 21st century stability and infrastructure to underdeveloped regions. If a website, channel, group, or any entity claims to be a representative of Akoin or the Akoin Foundation but is not found on the list below is not legitimate.
A spokesperson for Mwale confirmed Mwale fled the country after a disagreement with government authorities and said his life was in danger. With the Akoin Platform, we can even financially reward entrepreneurs for meeting educational or social impact goals. Our goal is to assist 2 million entrepreneurs in creating 30 million jobs by 2030. Everything they need to build businesses which can address their community’s problems. All the while, those applications will gather data which can be used to improve individual lives and the greater Akoin economy.
The highway from the capital to Akon’s planned metropolis runs right along the coast at times and veers inland at others, passing through a smattering of villages. “We plan to literally franchise the city,” Akon told forex money manager TMZ in August of the development on the coast of the West African country where he spent part of his childhood. Jon Karas, president and co-founder of Akoin, said the listing was an important step for the business.
If you are new to crypto, use the Crypto.com University and our Help Center to learn how to start buying Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies. The listing with BitMart unlocks the pent-up demand for Akoin within the United States from people who want to support the Akoin mission and opens up access to many other African countries who were previously unable to access and utilize Akoin. “I haven’t finalized my decision yet, but I think I am going to do it,” he said about officially announcing his candidacy. Global brands and DApp/App partners can engage in ongoing or one-time marketing campaigns across the Akoin Ecosystem for expanded growth and awareness. Users of Akoin will be able to interact with any of the Dapps available in the marketplace through the Akoin token. “Sometimes we have projects that are done exclusively with external people, and when it’s done, you have a barrier with the population because they will feel like this has been done here but maybe it was not done with us — or for us — at the end of the day,” Vavasseur said.