Blockchain Hub in Kenya Set Up by DLT Startup of Akon
A known blockchain supporter and a popular Senegalese-American musician, Akon, is putting up a blockchain hub in Kenya.
Also known as the ‘Kenyan Opportunity Hub,’ the new venture plans to expand blockchain and artificial intelligence or AI education. In addition to that, they aim to give Kenyans more work opportunities.
This is a merged initiative of Akon’s blockchain startup and Akoin and EOSIO-powered project Effect.AI. The hub will launch in Q4 2020. In an announcement on July 1, he said it would be the first initiative of its kind in Africa. The Akon Foundation, Akon’s philanthropic arm, will manage the project.
In addition to that, the Kenyan Opportunity Hub will become the first African blockchain hub in a series of so-called Akon-Effect Opportunity hubs. In these hubs, people can access AI and blockchain-related education and online work paid in cryptocurrency on Effect.AI’s blockchain platform.
Based on this joint statement, the hub seems to be near Mwale Medical and Technology City. This is a project operated by United States engineering firm, KE International. The creators plan to open more work opportunities, such as tech-powered medical record translation, by establishing the hub close to Mwale.
In Georgia
Moreover, the Kenyan Opportunity Hub will benefit from the experience of a similar Effect.AI’s hub operating in Rustavi, Georgia.
The initiative – launched in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program in 2019 – intends to improve industry job opportunities and promote tech knowledge. In addition, Effect.AI – headquartered in the Netherlands – is a decentralized AI network running on the EOS blockchain.
Crypto Revolution Plans
After Akon received a $6 billion contract to make a cryptocurrency city in Senegal, news about the Kenyan blockchain hub arrived. The said project seeks to establish a 100% crypto-based city featuring Akon’s Akoin cryptocurrency.
Akon’s goal to push the mass adoption of blockchain technology in Africa is part of the long-running African crypto revolution. Together with the plans to make crypto cities and hubs in Africa, he also targets releasing his own cryptocurrency to let the tokenized trading of mobile phone credits be used as a currency in Africa.
Telegram to Shut Down TON
Elsewhere, Telegram recently terminated its blockchain project, Telegram Open Network (TON), in May 2020. The TON test net ran for nearly one year.
In an update on July 6, the official TON development group on Telegram revealed that it would be discounting its support of TON’s test network. Then, the remaining TON validators will turn off by August 1. In the announcement, the TON official suggested network participants save all relevant data and stop their testing processes.
Even though testnet will shut down in less than a month, network participants can still continue their experimentation following the termination of the testnet. And for that to happen, users can install their testnet validators described in greater detail in three kinds of how-to documents with guidelines for the Full Node, the Validator, and Test Grams.
Looking back, Telegram launched the TON testnet for explorer and node software last September 2019. Also, in anticipation of its launching on October 31 last year, the firm showed the alpha version of an iOS wallet which will work with its native token, the Gram.
However, Telegram’s TON plans never was finished. This is because the United States’ Securities and Exchange Commission deemed Telegram’s $1.7 billion ICO illegal in mid-October.
