Aliaume Damala Badara Akon Thiam is better known by his stage name, Akon. He is a singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, actor, and most importantly to SIA-Africa, a philanthropist.
Over the years, Akon has worked with some of the most well-known names in the music business, including the late Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston. He has been listed on several Forbes rankings, including 5th on the 40 Most Powerful Celebrities in Africa list.
Akon spent much of his early life in Senegal, before moving to the U.S. with his family at the age of 7. His early days in Africa without electricity spurred he and a friend, Thione Niang, to help drive for transformation. They joined forces with Mali-born entrepreneur Samba Bathily to form Akon Lighting Africa in 2014.
The organization has brought electricity to hundreds of communities in 15 countries, many in rural areas outside major cities in Kenya, Nigeria, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Benin, Sierra Leone and Senegal. He had earlier founded the Konfidence Foundation, dedicated to empowering the youth in both Senegal and the U.S. by promoting health and education, and supporting impoverished families.
In 2018, Akon began working with the Senegalese government to build a tourist city with a cryptocurrency-based economy. In a recent interview, Akon said that unlike many music industry professionals, he has used his celebrity status and business savvy to help make the world a better place.
He noted that his organization is “definitely not a charity” but a for-profit company. “The way I would categorize it is social entrepreneurship. We do our business in Africa not just to help people, but empower them to make their money in the process,” he was quoted as saying.
He hopes to help in the long-term by developing and focusing on sustainability. His initiatives help negotiate public-private partnerships with local governments and banks in order to find finance and obtain credit lines from other international companies.
For the many reasons Akon is working to promote development and sustainability and to empower the youth of Africa, SIA-Africa’s Person of the Month for March 2020 is Akon.
