The Business Council for Africa (BCA) in partnership with Brand Communications and African Business magazine has announced the launch of Africa’s first business book awards with a total prize money of $17,500 to be awarded to one winner and two runners-up.

The first edition of the African Business Book of the Year Award will be held at the iconic Africa Centre in London in February 2023.

The aim of the award is to recognize and celebrate business-related stories from the continent and encourage more high quality writing on business and management in Africa.

Arnold Ekpe, former CEO of Ecobank Group and Chairman of BCA, said: “We have seen, and rightly so, the emergence of a thriving literary scene from Africa in the area of fiction”.

“However, too little is known about entrepreneurs and business leaders in Africa and the businesses they run. There are many political and historical books on Africa, but not so many in what can be considered the business and management category.

“Through this award, we want to build on the BCA’s heritage of promoting African business to highlight and showcase businesses and business stories that are shaping modern Africa as well as encourage more writers and publishers to focus on this category.”
Arnold Ekpe

Anver Versi, Editor of African Banker magazine and longstanding editor of African Business added that an award such as this, is long overdue.

“We’ve been covering Africa continuously for nearly 50 years, and I have personally been involved for over 40, but business reporting and books around business have largely been taken for granted and ignored when it has come to giving out writing awards.

“From my own experience and that of my colleagues in Africa and the diaspora, I believe the business environment in Africa is probably one of the most dramatic and interesting in the world. The extraordinary array of entrepreneurs, most of whom are innovators in business and management, makes for wonderful storytelling and riveting profiles.”
Anver Versi

Anver Versi underscored that away from boardrooms in high rise buildings across the continent, you will find extraordinary stories in the streets and markets as the continent’s millions of traders, artisans, craftspeople, hawkers and agents go about their daily activities with amazing energy and optimism.

“It is time this fascinating aspect of modern African life was brought to the surface by our business writers and shared with the continent’s readers and the rest of the world.”
Anver Versi

Criteria for selection

A panel of distinguished judges will consider books and business school journals published for the first time in English (or in English translation) between 1st January 2019 and 31st August 2022.

The judges will base their choices on the quality of prose, compelling storytelling, comprehensiveness and depth of treatment of the subject matter, reader appeal and originality.

The winner and the runners-up will be presented prizemoney of $17,500 (respectively $10,000, $5,000, and $2,500).

This year’s panel of judges will consist of experts on business, renowned academics and publishers, including: Arnold Ekpe, Chairperson of BCA; chair of the Judging Committee, Chris Ogbechie; Dean of Lagos Business School, Arunma Otteh; Chair of the Royal African Society, Moky Makura; CEO of AfricaNoFilter, Terhas Berhe; Managing Director and Founder of Brand Communications, Omar Ben Yedder; and Anver Versi, Editor of New African and African Banker magazine.