Lagos, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- NIGERIN billionaire businessman and philanthropist Femi Otedola has won second place at the 2026 African Business Book of the Year Awards for his autobiography, Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business.
The recognition was announced by the Business Council for Africa (BCA), organisers of the annual awards, with Otedola receiving a $5,000 prize sponsored by the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).
The award honours outstanding business publications that make significant contributions to entrepreneurship, leadership and economic development across Africa.
Reacting to the recognition, Otedola described the award as a validation of the purpose behind writing the book.
“Thank you to the BCA African Business Book of the Year team for this generous recognition,” he said.
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He explained that Making It Big was written to provide an honest account of the realities of entrepreneurship, highlighting both the rewards and the challenges of building successful businesses on the continent.
“Making It Big was written to tell the truth about the journey—the risks, the setbacks, the resilience, and the leadership required to build a business, especially in Africa,” he said.
Expressing gratitude for the honour, Otedola congratulated the other winners and said he was encouraged by the positive reception the memoir has received from readers across Africa.
“I am grateful that the book is resonating with readers and entrepreneurs across the continent. I am hopeful that it will inspire entrepreneurs to keep building and giving back,” he added.
Published in August 2025, Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business chronicles Otedola’s journey from a young entrepreneur to one of Africa’s leading business figures.
The memoir offers insights into his experiences building businesses, overcoming setbacks, making investment decisions and leading companies across Nigeria’s energy and financial services sectors. It also explores the values that have shaped his career, including resilience, discipline, strategic thinking and long-term value creation.
The African Business Book of the Year Awards celebrate authors whose works provide practical lessons and fresh perspectives on doing business in Africa. The initiative has become an important platform for recognising books that document the continent’s evolving corporate landscape while inspiring a new generation of entrepreneurs, executives and business leaders.
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Otedola, the Chairman of First HoldCo Plc, built his fortune in Nigeria’s downstream oil industry before expanding his investments into power generation, financial services and other strategic sectors.
The latest recognition adds to the growing success of Making It Big. In August 2025, shortly after its release, the memoir climbed to No. 3 on Amazon’s Best Sellers in Business Biographies & Memoirs ranking.
The book featured alongside internationally acclaimed titles, including Gary Stevenson’s The Trading Game: A Confession, Simon Squibb’s What’s Your Dream?, Phil Knight’s Shoe Dog and Walter Isaacson’s Elon Musk, underscoring its strong reception among readers and business audiences.
