THE CONCERNS surrounding the coronavirus pandemic has seen the closure of many businesses, the cancelling of events worldwide and a country put on lockdown.

Because of this, Tech PR Agency EAK Digital have set up a virtual crypto conference, aptly titled BlockDown 2020, with global multi-platinum selling artist Akon as the headline speaker.

From “Locked Up” to currently being on lockdown with his family in Atlanta, Akon, the Grammy-Nominated artist and crypto entrepreneur will be marking his birthday by attending the conference, which commences on April 16, virtually to make a big announcement about his ambitious crypto project Akoin.

Akoin aims to empower Africa with a single uniting currency on a secure platform that tracks economic, trade, and social data to give everyone the potential to securely develop the businesses, and lives, of their dreams. Akoin users will be able to save money, pay utilities or other users, develop skills on educational applications, apply or hire for jobs, request loans and market goods and services.

“I think that blockchain and crypto could be the saviour for Africa in many ways because it brings the power back to the people,” Akon said.

“Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology offer a more secure currency that enables people in Africa to advance themselves independent of the government.”

Aside from his highly successful music career and cryptocurrency venture, Akon is well known for his philanthropic work.

In 2014 Akon founded Akon Lighting Africa which aimed to provide electricity by solar energy in Africa after growing up in a town without electricity.

The projects provided electricity in 14 African countries as of 2015 and employed over 5000 people, reaching one million African households with their projects. The overall aim of this was to bring electricity to 600 million people in rural communities across Africa.

Akon intends for Akoin to power the economy of his futuristic $2 billion Akon Crypto City, an eco-tourism smart city currently under construction a few hours outside of Senegal’s capital, Dakar. Akon said that the city will be like a “real life Wakanda” a reference to the futuristic African country in the 2018 film “Black Panther.” The city will run entirely on Akoin.

Akon will be live-streaming into a panel discussion and hosting a digital press conference and providing blockchain projects with the opportunity to pitch the Akoin team their project with the chance of being included in Akoin’s decentralised application ecosystem.

With multiple crypto conferences globally postponed or cancelled, BlockDown is a chance for the crypto community to network, engage and learn without having to leave their desks!

During the conference, attendees can watch live illustrations, visit virtual exhibition booth areas, and network and share business ideas in “dedicated online spaces,” according to a statement. It will also be possible to attend virtual “fireside chats” with 3D renditions of top speakers.

“We decided to shift our focus to an online event as we knew that in these uncertain times, people will need a fun and sociable environment and we could use our network to bring the community together,” said EAK Digital’s founder Erhan Korhaliller