Our Mission
Founded by Aliaune “Akon” Thiam and Ms. Kine Gueye Thiam in 2007, the Konfidence Foundation is dedicated to empowering youth in Senegal, West Africa and the United States by promoting health and education, and supporting impoverished families. Akon and Ms. Kine’s vision is that one day our concentrated efforts in Senegal and the United States will serve as an international platform to unite these two great nations and help build the Africa of tomorrow.
Our vision is that the Foundation's concentrated efforts in Senegal will one day serve as the international platform to empower individuals, communities, and nations with the tools needed to build the Africa of tomorrow.
Founders Biographies
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![]() Akon, a Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum selling artist, |
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In 2007, Akon turned his attention, energy, and love to launch the Konfidence Foundation. Drawing upon his recognizable celebrity combined with pride of his heritage and passion for philanthropy, Akon formed the Konfidence Foundation to improve the quality of life for people in Africa and the United States.
The son of two Senegalese natives, Akon was born Aliaune Badara Thiam, in St. Louis and raised in Senegal, West Africa until age 7. His father, Mor Thiam, a well-respected Senegalese percussionist and jazz musician, and mother, Kine, a renowned African singer, dancer and humanitarian, helped to foster a general love of the arts in Akon as well as a deep appreciation of his heritage and homeland. Their influences were truly ingrained within Akon and fueled his desire to create a better future for Africa, beginning with empowering its youth.
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![]() A native of Senegal, raised in a family known for its artistry,
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Inspired by the success of PATC, Ms. Thiam founded The Institute for the Study of African Culture (ISAC), her own not-for-profit performing arts studio and African cultural education center in 1974. For the next two decades, Ms. Thiam and her husband, Mor Thiam, tirelessly traveled throughout the country exposing children and their families to African dance and culture. Through the initiatives at ISAC, Ms. Thiam and her family became recognized for their charitable endeavors and often provided food, shelter and a means to make a living to many Senegalese immigrants who came to the United States.
As President & CEO of the Konfidence Foundation, Ms. Thiam draws on her own experience as a mother of five children as well as a youth mentor, cultural educator, and community business leader to further her son's mission of empowering the people of Africa and restoring hope and confidence to their youth.