Akon is known to most people for his music, but fewer know about his work on solar power. According to a 2019 case study titled ‘Sustainable energy solutions: Akon Lighting Africa’ published in DECISION, he co-founded Akon Lighting Africa, a solar initiative to provide electricity to rural areas in 2014. The initiative says it had installed solar solutions in 14 African countries within a year. The case study describes it as a celebrity-run project.
From music stages to solar power: Akon’s push to light up rural communities. (Wikimedia Commons)Why this project was important
The need was huge. Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report 2026, a joint report by the IEA, IRENA, the UN, the World Bank, and the WHO, shows that 655 million people in the world still live without electricity, with more than 560 million of them in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2024, 92 percent of people had access globally. That sounds high, but progress has run out of steam, leaving sub-Saharan Africa and rural areas behind. The report also finds the number of rural people without power in that region increased from 376 million in 2010 to 447 million in 2024. For many readers, steady power is simply part of daily life. The numbers show how uneven access remains around the world.
What the case study says
The case study says the plan is simple. The project pairs Africa’s natural sunshine and new technology with African expertise. The authors also describe its vision, its activity so far, its competitors, its social impact, and how recipients of help responded. Such reactions, they say, are overwhelming. That is the authors’ view, so it is best read as one account of the project. The paper is a case study: it examines one project in detail rather than testing results across many. That helps explain how the program was built, but it cannot prove how well solar works everywhere.
Reaching 14 countries sounds exciting, but it’s not without challenges. The study considers the challenges of operating in different countries. The paper also includes a table profiling the electricity and renewable-energy status of the countries where the project works, showing how conditions vary by location. Using a business framework, the authors show how the project can use its strengths to help more people get electricity. Rapid growth is only part of the challenge. Making the plan work in each place is another matter, and the paper treats both sides as part of the story.
Where solar fits, and what gets in the way
The 2026 energy report points toward small, local power systems as a way forward. It says distributed renewable energy is a cost-effective way to get electricity. That includes off-grid solar and mini-grids, which already serve hundreds of millions of people, according to the report. Solar programs like Akon’s fit that mold. The same report says that renewables, including solar, now account for more than 30% of the world’s electricity supply.
But the road remains long. It says Sub-Saharan Africa’s progress has slowed considerably and the world’s pace of electrification must triple, to 1.3 percent a year, to achieve universal access by 2030. Cost is a huge barrier too. When infrastructure is available, many households are unable to pay connection fees, wiring costs, or basic energy services. International financial flows for clean energy to least developed countries fell 11 percent in 2024 to $3.7 billion. According to the report, reaching everyone still without power will require targeted subsidies, innovative financing mechanisms, and least-cost electrification solutions.
Akon’s project is one example of how a familiar name can help shine a spotlight on an energy problem. However, the numbers show that a single project probably isn’t going to close such a vast gap.