The Business Council for Africa (BCA), in partnership with the Africa Finance Corporation, African Business and BrandComms, has unveiled an exciting and eclectic shortlist for the 4th edition of the BCA African Business Book of the Year Awards.
Femi Otedola, billionaire business mogul, was listed among shortlisted writers for this year’s honours. He made the list with his book, Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business.
The other shortlisted books and authors are: How we made it in Africa II, by Jarco Martiz; How Africa works, by Joe Studwell; Cultural Confluence in Organisational Change: A Portuguese Venture in Angola, by Allete Vonk; Afro-Optimism Unleashed, by Adeolu Adewumi-Zer; It’s About Tyme, by Adrian Saville, Bruce Whitfield; How Africa Eats, by Professor David Luke; Realizing Africa’s Potential: A Journey to Prosperity; by Landry Signé.
The annual competition celebrates the most compelling business writing examining and shaping Africa’s economic imagination – from leadership memoirs and sectoral deep‑dives to bold analyses of the continent’s future.
Now in its fourth year, the awards continue to spotlight the authors, thinkers and practitioners documenting Africa’s business and economic transformation with clarity, rigour and ambition.
Supported by Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), Africa’s leading infrastructure solutions provider, the shortlist reflects a continent in motion: from the boardrooms of Lagos and Johannesburg to the food markets of Accra, the banking corridors of Nairobi and the policy tables of Addis Ababa.
The judging panel, as in previous iterations, is made up of respected African business and thought leaders as well as media executives: Arnold Ekpe, Chairperson of BCA, and chair of the Judging Committee; Arunma Oteh, former Director General of the Nigeria SEC and Chair at the Royal Africa Society; Chris Ogbechie, former Dean of Lagos Business School; Moky Makura, CEO of AfricaNoFilter; Terhas Berhe, Managing Director and Founder of Brand Communications; Omar Ben Yedder, Publisher of African Business and New African magazine; and Anver Versi, Editor of New African and African Banker.
Commenting on the awards, Arnold Ekpe, Chairperson of BCA, commended the quality of this year’s submissions while emphasising the need for even more African business voices to emerge.
“We are excited to have the Africa Finance Corporation join us this year as our headline sponsor. As AFC approaches its 20th anniversary next year, it understands the importance of narrative and the significance of documenting first hand the business stories being created across the continent. These stories help deepen understanding of Africa’s evolving business landscape and economic transformation.”
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The winner and runners-up for this year will be unveiled at the awards ceremony scheduled to take place in London on 3 July, at the Institute of Directors. The winner will receive a trophy and $10,000. The second- and third-placed finalists will receive $5,000 and $2,500, respectively.
Last year’s winners included All Hands on Deck: Unleash prosperity through world class capital markets by Arunma Oteh; Africonomics: A History of Western Ignorance by Bronwen Everill; and Toni Kan’s Riding the Storm: The Untold Story of Africa’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic covering the African response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Business Council for Africa was established in 1956 to provide reliable intelligence to investors interested in African economies.
Today, it is a registered not- for-profit organisation dedicated to promoting African business, championing enterprise, and connecting the continent with global opportunity.
Its flagship initiatives include the Annual African Business Book Awards and the Annual RED Index. For more information, visit: www.bcafrica.org
