Popular African-American singer Akon, landed in Gambia this weekend as part of the launch of a project connected with his ‘Akon Lighting Africa’ initiative.
The R and B hip hop recording artist, Aliaune Damala Bouga, popularly known on stage as Akon, launched a mega-solar project aimed at providing electricity to some 600 million Africans.
The initiative primarily targets rural communities that are not connected to electricity and also seeks to find ways to bring costs down to make power supply more affordable.
In the Gambia, he is expected to meet with President Adama Barrow and to launch a solar energy project.
The visit also features the launch of a youth empowerment project under the theme, ‘Role of young people in building a new Gambia.’
The program is championed by Thione Niang – Founder of the Give1 Project and Samba Bathily of the Solektra Energy Group.
Akon, who was raised in Senegal, told the media last year that he has collected about 1 billion dollars to finance projects in Africa.
According to him, Africa is in dire need of basic necessities like potable water and electricity. He said his desire for luxury reduced when he noticed the poor development in Africa.