Akon Started An Academy To Develop Africa’s Solar Power

Though Akon, a pop music fixture in the mid ‘00s, hasn’t released a studio album since 2008’s Freedom, he’s kept busy with other projects: Reuters reported recently that the singer/rapper is starting a “Solar Academy” for Africa. The institution, located in Bamako, Mali, aims to provide Africans with the tools and knowledge to cultivate one of the continent's mostly-untapped resources: solar power. Samba Baithily, who works with Akon, told Reuters, “We have the sun and innovative technologies to bring electricity to homes and communities. We now need to consolidate African expertise." The academy represents a first step in that process.

Lead Image: Jo Hale / Getty Images

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