Philanthropy and Hip Hop have a long history. From Master P paying for the funerals of innocent victims of violence to Jay Z recently footing the bail for protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, the culture and social empowerment have come hand-in-hand.
Recently, another person in the Hip Hop game decided to use his money to help others in need. According to Eurweb, Akon is attempting to get people in Africa electricity via an initiative called Akon Lighting Africa. The academy eyes eventually providing 600 million people from numerous African countries electricity who currently don’t have it.
“We have the sun and innovative technologies to bring electricity to homes and communities. We now need to consolidate African expertise,” said Samba Baithily, co-founder of the foundation (along with Akon and Thione Niang). The Senegalese-American singer and his cohorts will open the institute in Bamako and provide engineers and business individuals the ability to harness solar power in the area.
“We expect the Africans who graduate from this center to devise new, innovative, technical solutions,” Niang said. “With this Academy, we can capitalize on Akon Lighting Africa and go further.”
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70 percent of Africans are under the age of 35. Akon Lighting Africa also eyes providing thousands of jobs to those seeking employment.
