For those who hoped to one day live in Wakanda, the dream of Akon City is over. The planned smart, eco-friendly city in Senegal, inspired by the fictional African kingdom in Marvel's Black Panther, has officially collapsed. The futuristic urban initiative, led by Senegalese-American artist Akon, was announced with great fanfare and received widespread media coverage. However, the project was plagued by delays, flaws, and poor timing that damaged its reputation and eroded the trust of Senegalese authorities. Here is a timeline of how the "revolutionary" project fell apart.

June 2018– First Public Announcement

During a visit to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Senegalese-American artist Akon, whose real name is Alioune Badara Thiam, announced plans to build a futuristic city. The city would operate on its own virtual currency, “Akoin,” which was scheduled to launch in July 2018.

He described the city as “the first 100% crypto-based city with AKoin at the centre of transactional life…blends leading smart city planning designs with a blank canvas for cryptonising our daily human and business exchanges and invent a radically new way of existence.”

Akon claimed that then-President of Senegal Macky Sall had granted him 2,000 acres, or about 800 hectares, for the city, which he initially called “Akon Crypto City.”

January 2020– Official Partnership

The 2018 announcement created significant excitement. Promotional videos and 3D renderings by Dubai-based Lebanese architect Hussein Bakri depicted a city with glass towers, luxury hotels, hospitals, and business centers. The images captured the attention of the public and the media.

Senegalese authorities took interest in the project as a potential tourism booster. On January 13, 2020, Akon signed a memorandum of understanding with SAPCO, a state-owned tourism company, in the presence of then-Minister of Tourism Alioune Sarr. Akon promised a high-tech, eco-responsible city with architecture inspired by Wakanda. The planned 55-hectare site was located 100 kilometers south of Dakar, near the coastal village of Mbodiène.

August 2020– Groundbreaking Ceremony

The project gained momentum a few months after the SAPCO agreement. A symbolic groundbreaking ceremony was held on August 31, with Alioune Sarr in attendance. The lead contractor was KE International, an American company specializing in green infrastructure and smart city projects. It was also tasked with the city's planning, construction, and management.

The project was estimated to cost $6 billion, to be primarily funded by “American private partners.” The first phase was expected to be completed in 2023, with full completion by 2029.

September 2020– Civil Forum Demands Clarification

Amid the growing enthusiasm, the Civil Forum, Senegal’s chapter of Transparency International, urged caution. On September 10, the organization sent a letter to the Ministry of Tourism and SAPCO, requesting clarification on the project's financial structure, shareholding, legal framework, and land transfer studies. The organization's General Coordinator, Ibrahima Seck, said they were concerned about the project's impact on local communities.

January-March 2021– Radio Silence

Construction was scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2021, but never started. Local journalists reported a complete lack of activity on the site, and the project began to lose credibility.

January-December 2022– Mounting Criticism

On the ground, criticism continued to mount, and some media outlets began calling Akon City a “scam” due to the lack of progress. In March 2022, the news site Dakaractu suggested the project might be a Ponzi scheme.

Akon dismissed the accusations in a December interview with the BBC, attributing the delays to “administrative holdups” and the COVID-19 pandemic. He claimed the project was “100,000% moving” and that critics would “look super stupid” in the future.

February 2023– “Akon City is a Scandal”

In February 2023, MP Bara Gaye openly criticized the project. "Akon City is a scandal," he said before the Parliament. "What is the Senegalese state waiting for to cancel this contract?"

Nearly three years after the groundbreaking, the site remained dormant. Reports indicated that construction had not yet begun. Meanwhile, the completion date for Phase 1 was pushed from 2023 to 2025, with Akon once again citing the pandemic.

June 2024 – SAPCO Sends Formal Notice

Four years after the groundbreaking, little progress had been made on Akon City. At that point, only the frame of one curved building, a "Welcome Center," had been erected. On June 28, SAPCO issued a formal notice to Akon, stating that if construction did not begin by the end of July, the land would be reclaimed. Bloomberg later cited two sources familiar with the matter, revealing that Akon had missed several payments to SAPCO.

August 2024 – “Work is Progressing”

Amid rising skepticism, Cheick Seck, a project manager at Dakar-based Axiome Construction, insisted that “work is progressing.” According to him, geotechnical studies and environmental assessments were underway.

June 26, 2025– “Akon City  is no longer relevant”

“Akon City  is no longer relevant,” said Serigne Mamadou Mboup, Director General of SAPCO, on June 26, 2025. This statement was the final blow to Akon's vision.

Bloomberg reported that the site now features a basketball court, a youth gathering space, and a small information center. According to local media, the rest of the land is overgrown and used for animal pasture.

Today: Goodbye Future, Back to the Present

The curved buildings and 3D renderings are gone. With Akon City officially canceled, SAPCO has a more modest plan for the region. It intends to invest 665 billion CFA francs, or $1.2 billion, to transform the area into a tourism hub with apartments, hotels, a marina, and a road connecting the zone to a nearby lagoon.

A month after the project's cancellation, Akon has remained silent. Akon City was meant to embody Africa’s urban renaissance. Today, it serves as a cautionary tale: blindly importing urban fantasies into Africa can lead to failure. While rethinking urban models is vital, it is essential that initiatives, whether funded by foreign investors or imagined by members of the diaspora, address real challenges like population growth and access to electricity, water, and sanitation. The saying "no one is a prophet in their own land" rings true.

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