Billionaire Femi Otedola's memoir named first runner-up at BCA African Business Book of the Year

Femi Otedola's business memoir has been named first runner-up at the 2026 BCA African Business Book of the Year, adding a second international honour to a book that has already collected a major American prize since its release last year.

The Business Council for Africa announced the result at a ceremony on July 3 at the Institute of Directors in London, where the winner and runners-up were unveiled from a shortlist of nine titles. Otedola's "Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business" took the second-place spot, which carries a $5,000 award. The top prize is $10,000 and a trophy, with $2,500 for third.

The award, now in its fourth year, is run by the Business Council for Africa in partnership with the Africa Finance Corporation, African Business magazine and BrandComms. It recognises writing that examines the continent's economies, ranging from leadership memoirs to sector studies, and has become one of African publishing's more closely watched prizes.

Otedola's book had strong company on the shortlist. Other titles included Joe Studwell's "How Africa Works," David Luke's "How Africa Eats," Landry Signé's "Realizing Africa's Potential," Jaco Maritz's "How We Made It in Africa II" and works by Adeolu Adewumi-Zer, Alette Vonk, and Adrian Saville with Bruce Whitfield.

The judging panel was chaired by Arnold Ekpe, the BCA chairman and former chief executive of Ecobank. It also included Arunma Oteh, a former director-general of Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission; Chris Ogbechie, a former dean of Lagos Business School; Moky Makura of Africa No Filter; and the publishers and editors of African Business and New African.

The recognition is the latest for a memoir that has performed well since it was published on Aug. 18, 2025. Released in hardcover and paperback and launched at an event in London, the book became a bestseller on Amazon within a day. In March, it won the Business Book Gold medal at the 2026 Axiom Business Book Awards in the United States, a prize administered from Michigan that drew more than 600 entries from 31 countries and whose past gold medallists include the economist Robert Shiller and the investor Ray Dalio.

Part memoir and part business primer, the book traces Otedola's path from childhood ambition to the top of Nigerian business. He writes that he dreamed of his first venture before the age of 10, made his first billion dollars at 41, lost it, and rebuilt his fortune. The narrative runs through fuel distribution, power generation and banking.

Those chapters mirror his career. Otedola founded Zenon Petroleum and Gas in the downstream oil sector, then in 2007 acquired a controlling stake in African Petroleum, which he renamed Forte Oil and turned into one of the most watched stocks on the Nigerian Exchange. He later sold that business and moved into power generation through Geregu Power.

His most recent pivot has been into banking. Otedola was appointed chairman of First HoldCo, the parent of First Bank, Nigeria's oldest lender, in January 2024, and has built a combined direct and indirect stake of about 18.1 percent, or roughly 8.02 billion shares. He has pledged to put about $220 million (320 billion naira) of his own money, without borrowing, into the group, describing it as a long-term bet on Nigerian banking.

The banking push was funded in part by a landmark exit. On Dec. 29, 2025, Otedola sold his 95 percent controlling stake in Geregu Power to MA'AM Energy for $750 million (1.088 trillion naira), in a deal financed by a consortium of banks led by Zenith Bank. Much of the proceeds flowed into First HoldCo.

The book has drawn endorsements from prominent figures. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organization, wrote its preface and called it a rare account by a successful African business leader. Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank, described it as a must-read for entrepreneurs and policymakers, while Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man, recommended it to anyone seeking success in a difficult environment.

Otedola, a Forbes-listed billionaire, is the son of the late Sir Michael Otedola, a former governor of Lagos State. Beyond business, he has built a reputation as one of Nigeria's more visible philanthropists, and the memoir devotes space to his giving in education, healthcare and disaster relief, as well as his views on legacy and leadership.

The Business Council for Africa, a not-for-profit that has promoted business on the continent since the 1950s, frames the award as part of a wider push to get African business stories told firsthand. Ekpe has argued that the shortage of such narratives carries a real cost, feeding a risk premium that African economies pay for being poorly understood.

The first runner-up finish caps a strong run for a book that arrived less than a year ago. With an American gold medal already on the shelf and now a London podium finish, Otedola's turn as an author has landed nearly as cleanly as the ventures it describes.