Business
Billionaire, Femi Otedola, among writers shortlisted for BCA African Business Book 2026
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.”
READ ALSO: Femi Otedola’s Making It Big jumps to Number 1 on Amazon Best Sellers list
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
President Bola Tinubu has said 21 shared facilities established across 19 states and the Federal Capital Territory are supporting businesses and an estimated 650,000 jobs.
The facilities, established under the Federal Government’s National MSME Clinics initiative, provide entrepreneurs with access to equipment, electricity and production infrastructure without requiring them to bear the full cost of setting up such facilities themselves.
President Tinubu disclosed this in a statement on Monday while highlighting the government’s efforts to address infrastructure and equipment challenges facing micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
According to the President, many small businesses have the skills and ideas to expand but struggle to access the equipment and infrastructure needed to increase production.
He said the shared MSME hubs were designed to reduce some of those barriers by allowing entrepreneurs to use modern production facilities without making large upfront investments.
He cited tailors and food processors as examples of businesses that could benefit from the model.
“A tailor should not need millions of naira to buy industrial machinery before she can grow her business. A food processor should not have to build a factory before producing at scale,” he said.
The President said access to shared facilities could allow businesses to increase production while reducing their operating costs.
“When small businesses can produce more, at lower cost, they become more competitive. They grow. They employ more people. They create income and opportunity for Nigerian families.”
MSME support
The initiative comes as the Federal Government expands programmes aimed at improving access to finance, equipment, skills and markets for small businesses.
READ ALSO: Sowore’s AAC sues Tinubu, others over failure to transfer power to Shettima
The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), which implements several government MSME support programmes, has previously identified access to finance, infrastructure and markets among the challenges confronting small businesses.
The government has also introduced other interventions aimed at improving access to credit. These include the National Credit Guarantee Company (NCGC), which provides guarantees to encourage financial institutions to lend to businesses and other eligible borrowers.
President Tinubu noted that the government’s approach was focused on removing barriers that prevent entrepreneurs from turning their skills and ideas into sustainable businesses.
“Our job is to remove those barriers,” he said.
He added that strengthening small businesses would help create employment, increase household incomes and expand economic activity.
“Giving Nigerian enterprise the tools to succeed is how we build prosperity from the ground up,” President Tinubu said.
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