What was once touted as Africa’s Wakanda-like future city has officially come to a halt. The grand futuristic vision known as Akon City, a proposed $6 billion (approx. KSh 774 billion) smart city in Senegal, has been scrapped after years of delays and growing skepticism. Initially conceived as a shining symbol of innovation and pan-African progress, the project has now been replaced by a more scaled-down, practical alternative.
Akon City was announced with great fanfare in 2018, promising a utopian hub of technology and sustainability on Senegal’s Atlantic coast. The plan included state-of-the-art skyscrapers, healthcare facilities, a shopping mall, a school, a police station, and even a solar power plant — all built to run entirely on renewable energy. The entire city was to operate using Akoin, a new cryptocurrency that would revolutionize economic exchange across Africa.
However, seven years later, the 800-hectare site in Mbodiène — located around 100 kilometers south of Dakar — remains largely untouched. Instead of a booming urban hub, the land sits quiet and undeveloped, save for an unfinished reception building. No roads. No homes. No power grid.
Residents in the surrounding area had initially welcomed the project with enthusiasm, hopeful that it would create jobs and stimulate development. Yet their hopes have been met with growing disappointment, as progress on the ground failed to materialize. The gap between vision and reality became increasingly glaring.
The cryptocurrency component, Akoin, has also faltered. Despite being positioned as the financial backbone of the project, it struggled to gain traction or deliver returns to its early investors. Even the project’s founder acknowledged the shortcomings in how it was managed, admitting that things did not go according to plan.
Beyond funding woes, the legal framework presented further complications. Senegal’s economy relies on the CFA franc, which is regulated by a regional central bank that maintains strict oversight of currency circulation. The idea of using a private cryptocurrency as the city’s primary medium of exchange raised regulatory red flags from the outset.
Originally, phase one of the city was expected to be complete by the end of 2023. This first stage alone was ambitious, meant to include critical infrastructure and utilities that would lay the foundation for a cutting-edge urban settlement. But as time passed with no meaningful development, doubts continued to grow. Despite public assurances over the years that the city was still “100,000% moving,” evidence on the ground painted a very different picture.
Now, in a pivot towards realism, new plans are being drawn for a more achievable project on the same site. While the original Akon City may not be realized as envisioned, the land near Mbodiène is still considered a valuable asset — especially with the upcoming 2026 Youth Olympic Games and a surge in tourism expected in the region.
The updated project, though yet to be publicly detailed, aims to be more grounded, feasible, and better aligned with Senegal’s current infrastructure and economic frameworks. The dream of Akon City may be over, but the goal of development on the site lives on — in a new, more realistic form.
