London, UK – On Tuesday, November 25th, 2025, the Time for Africa (TFA) Foundation was honored with the Global South Sustainability Award at the Global South Maritime Heritage Summit. The prestigious award was presented at a ceremony held at the House of Lords, UK Parliament, by Honorable Louie French, Member of Parliament, and Lord Roger Evans. The event recognized the transformative impact of TFA’s collaborative work across Africa, with 115 distinguished guests in attendance, including Lord Rami Ranger, AI expert Prof. Ajit Jaokar of the University of Oxford, and sustainability and economics expert Prof. Kamiar Mohaddes of the University of Cambridge.
The Global South Sustainability Award celebrates TFA’s partnership with Smartware Innovations, a collaboration that has successfully integrated cutting-edge technology with community-driven sustainability development initiatives. This partnership has created sustainable solutions that address critical challenges facing African communities and has been recognized for its innovative approach.
TFA’s leadership team, consisting of Dr. Abiodun Olushola, Dr. Kanhu Pattnayak, Rebeca Díaz Romanenko, Ethan Wang, Leo Wang, Dan Chapman, and Pravena Mohan, was honored for their visionary leadership in implementing comprehensive multi-sector programs that simultaneously address community development through sustainable financing.
The foundation’s initiatives include a Clean Cookstove Program, which addresses health and environmental challenges by distributing high-efficient cookstoves that reduce fuel consumption and harmful emissions. Their Advanced Waste-to-Energy Technology converts agricultural residues and municipal waste into clean energy for cooking and electricity generation. TFA also focuses on climate resilience and blue economy development, food security and agricultural transformation, and integrated healthcare access through mobile health clinics and telemedicine services.
TFA’s initiatives are built on a blockchain-enabled development framework, providing transparency in resource allocation and real-time impact monitoring. This framework also ensures that every intervention is data-driven, accountable, and scalable while safeguarding the privacy and dignity of community members. Smartware Innovations, TFA’s technical partner, received the Global South Technological Innovation Award at the summit for their role in developing blockchain projects that enable TFA’s impact at scale.
The success of TFA’s partnership with Smartware Innovations demonstrates the potential for technological innovation and community-led development to create synergistic impacts. This collaborative approach has enabled TFA to deploy solutions that are effective, sustainable, and replicable across different contexts.
“We are honored to receive this award, which validates our approach of combining technological innovation with deep community engagement,” said Dr. Abiodun Olushola, representing TFA. “Our collaboration with Smartware Innovations has enabled us to create solutions that are not only technologically advanced but also culturally appropriate and sustainable in the long term.”
Looking ahead, TFA plans to expand its programs to additional African nations and develop new partnerships with academic institutions and private sector organizations to enhance the technological capabilities of its initiatives. Through their gender-led approach and focus on leveraging technology and fostering cross-continental collaborations, TFA is empowering communities to build self-reliant and prosperous futures while preserving cultural heritage and environmental resources.
