Akon wants solar power for 600 million people in Africa

Akon hopes to use solar power to provide electricity to 600 million people in Africa.
Akon has plans to light up Africa, and it's not with his hot lyrics.

The R&B star is launching an academy through his "Akon Lighting Africa" initiative, which will use the power of the sun to hopefully provide 600 million African people with electricity.


Opening in Mali's capital of Bamako, the academy will teach people how to install and take care of solar powered systems, which the performer believes will create jobs.


The plan seems reasonable considering Africa has 320 days of sunlight a year

"We have the sun and innovative technologies to bring electricity to homes and communities. We now need to consolidate African expertise and that is our objective," Samba Bathily, co-founder of the project, said in a statement. "We are doing more than just investing in clean energy.

"We are investing in human capital," she said. "We can achieve great milestones and accelerate the African transformation process on condition that we start training a new generation of highly qualified African engineers, technicians and entrepreneurs now."

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SOURCE: NY DAILY NEWS