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After amassing incredible $80m net worth, music icon, Akon, now devotes time to African causes

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African-American music icon, Aliaune Thiam, known in the entertainment world as Akon, has always been one star who has refused to forget his African roots throughout his illustrious career, and had been dedicated to making life better on the continent.

And after amassing a whopping $80 million net worth, the Senegalese-born Akon has decided to devote his resources and time for African causes and not just in his home country.

Back in 2015, Akon had said in an interview that the reason for his dedication to African causes was because the charities that are currently on the continent did not always help the people they claimed to help.

“One thing I’ve realized about Africa is that only the organizations that involve Africans themselves are successful,” he had said.

“A lot of corporations that come with their own policies and try and implement them in Africa fail horribly.

“The advantage we had is that all three founders (of his charity) are Africans, so we were able to navigate through each country a lot faster.”

Over the years, Akon has used his success as a musician to lobby for positive change throughout Africa and his vision has helped provide new opportunities for Africans from all walks of life.

Since 2015, Akon, a Platinum-certified star and five-time Grammy award nominee has done so much more for Africa than most charities have for decades, providing electricity for mo 1000 households across the continent and in the process, being able to light up the land through affordable renewable energy with the power of the sun.

One of Akon’s charity, Akon Lighting Africa, are now installed in 14 African countries and, for the first time ever, a number of households, villages, communities, schools, and health centers that are located in rural areas are all now connected to electricity – all thanks to Akon’s desire to make a difference.

Akon also has various charities he runs and supports across Africa which includes the Konfidence Foundation, his own charity for underprivileged children in Africa.

Other charities and foundations he supports are the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Clothes Off Our Back, Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, NoVo Foundation, ONE Campaign and Peace One Day.

Culture

Survey ranks Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, South Africa among 15 ‘cheap countries’ for family trips

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A recent survey carried out by Insider Monkey, an investment website that tracks corporate insiders and hedge funds, has ranked Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco and South Africa among 15 “cheap countries” to visit with family.

The Insider Monkey’s affordable countries list features Egypt as the top cheapest country for family trips while Ethiopia is in fifth place on the survey report, with Morocco ranking in eighth position while South Africa comes in at 15th place.

Giving a breakdown of what it will cost for a family vacation in the listed countries, the report say a one week trip for two people would cost as little as $935 in the listed countries to visit.

According to the survey, the second cheapest country for family trips is India, while Serbia and Colombia are ranked third and fourth, respectively.

“Ethiopia is the fifth in the list, while Poland and Russia are the sixth,and seventh, respectively,” the report said.

“South Africa ranks 15th, behind Romania (14th), Hungary (13th), Panama (11th), Albania (10th), and Bulgaria (9th),” the report stated.

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Culture

Davido’s ‘Unavailable’ achieves milestone with 100 million views on YouTube, Spotify

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Nigeria’s Afrobeats sensation, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has landed another milestone after his hit single, “Unavailable’, surpassed 100 million streams on both YouTube and Spotify.

According to a release on Wednesday by his management team, the track which features South African artist, Musa Keys, also hit a major milestone as its music video crossed 100 million views on YouTube.

The hit track which was released on April 11, 2023, as part of Davido’s chart-topping album “Timeless”, grew to become the most streamed Afrobeats song of 2023 and received high praise, including being named by Rihanna as her favorite single of the year.

“The single, Unavailable, has also surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify to become Davido’s first single to achieve this feat,” the statement said.

“With the music video surpassing 100 million views, it becomes Davido’s fourth song to surpass the 100 million streams mark following his 2017 hit releases ‘If’, ‘Fall’, and ‘FIA’.

“Following the success of Unavailable, Davido released a remix EP that includes collaborations with Jamaican Dancehall star Sean Paul and American rapper Latto.

“Described by Rihanna as her favourite single of 2023, Davido’s Unavailable was the most streamed Afrobeats song released in 2023.

“Additionally, the single recently earned a SNEP Gold plaque after reaching 15 million streams in France, cementing its status as a global hit,” it added.

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