‘All hands on deck for capital markets reform’ by Arunma Oteh, ‘Riding the Storm: The Untold Story of Africa’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic’ by Toni Kan and ‘The Rise of Gas’ by Charles A. Osezua are among the books from West Africa shotlisted for this year’s Business Council for Africa (BCA) African Business Book of the Year.
The list released by BCA in collaboration with BrandComms and African Business at the weekend also has ‘A West African Entrepreneur’s Challenging Path to Financial Freedom’ by Ike Onyema Obi and Janine de Nyssche, ‘Africonomics: A History of Western Ignorance and African Economics’ by Bronwen Everill, ‘Essentials of Leadership in Africa’ by Bella L. Galperin and Caren B. Scheepers; ‘In Her Hands: Shaping the Future of Manufacturing in Africa’ by Demi Samande; ‘Africa’s Global infrastructure’ by Jana Honke, Eric Cezne, Yifan Yang, ‘Skit Economy: How Nigeria’s Comedy Skit-Makers Are Redefining Africa’s Digital Content Landscape’ by Bell Ihua and ‘The Traveller: Crossing Borders and Connecting Africa’ by Thebe Ikalafeng.
The winner will receive a trophy and $10,000. The second and third place winners will receive $5,000 and $2,500, respectively.
Last year’s winners were How Africa Trades by Professor David Luke; Africa is not a Country by Dipo Faloyin and Ethiopian Airlines: The African Aviation Powerhouse by Jozef Mols.
The winner and runners-up for this year will be unveiled at the awards ceremony scheduled to take place in London on July 4 at the Institute of Directors, 116 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5ED, United Kingdom.
A close scrutiny revealed that authors from Nigeria lead this year’s shortlist, it covers a wide range of themes spanning infrastructure, finance, marketing and leadership. Four of the books are authored by women, more than in previous years.
The annual competition, which is now in its third year, is dedicated to illuminating the compelling business narratives that promote Africa’s socio-economic development.
In recognising the stories (re)shaping Africa’s business landscape, the BCA African Business Book of the Year awards brings together key figures in African publishing and business while honouring the talented authors and publishers responsible for bringing these stories of African entrepreneurship and resilience to life.
This year’s shortlist features an interesting mix from biographies of business leaders to a focus on manufacturing and capital market reforms, African economics and infrastructure, intra-Africa travel and the economics of skit making, gas as alternative feedstock for industry and Africa’s response to COVID-19.
The judging panel is made up of respected African business and thought leaders as well as media executives.
Commenting on the awards, Arnold Ekpe still thinks Africans need to get better at telling their stories: “We have seen research that has quantified the cost of the risk premium we are paying. This is because we are simply not good at telling our stories, and more importantly, our business stories. We are seeing more business books being published but the numbers are still tame given that many amazing businesses are emerging on the continent and that we are leading in many sectors, from tech to fashion, film, finance and mining.”