Remember ‘Smack That’ and ‘Chammak Challo’? Well, Akon’s known for more than just that. In 2014, Akon secured a $1 billion line of credit from China Jiangsu International Group, for his project, Akon lighting Africa, an initiative designed to bring electricity to 600 million Africans using solar energy, which he started along with Samba Bathily and Thione Niang.
[envoke_twitter_link]Africa faces one of the biggest power crisis in the world[/envoke_twitter_link]. According to a study by the African Development Bank group, in Sub-Saharan Africa, just one in five person has access to electricity. This energy crisis is escalated by corrupt governments that siphon off the money needed for development.
Because of Akon’s initiative, now people can walk out on the streets at night, they can work in hospitals, sell produce and much more. They can also charge their phones in their own home instead of paying to charge them at a far away place. [envoke_twitter_link]Akon’s initiative is making sure that this gap is being bridged[/envoke_twitter_link]. By lighting up homes, this initiative is creating more jobs, empowering children through education, and improving health. Who’d have thought?
Watch how the mission is empowering Africa:
