Stella Okoli is an amazon making tremendous impact in Nigeria’s indigenous pharmaceutical industry. A woman of no small repute, a dogged entrepreneur, an illustrious woman whose unrelenting strides has earned her honour and accolades within and outside the shores of Nigeria. She is a distinct enterprising amazon and a lifetime achiever of international recognition.
From A Small Shop To A Global Celebrated Brand SHE started Emzor pharmaceuticals which today is a global brand as a Emzor Chemist which then was a small retail outlet in 1977 but today that small business has metamorphose into a multibillion naira pharmaceutical outfit. For Dr. Okoli, choosing to manufacture drugs locally was important for developing local capabilities and competencies, creating jobs and providing affordable yet high-quality pharmaceutical products for the Nigerian market. There is no disputing that she has managed to achieve that and gone further, establishing offices in Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana and India.
Dr. Okoli’s postgraduation work experience is quite impressive. Her experience in the pharmaceutical field is well consolidated. She initially worked in Middlesex Hospital as a Ward/ Clinical Pharmacist, followed in succession by her brief stint as a
Pharmacist at Boots Chemist London. Her return home to Nigeria, saw her work at Massey Children Hospital Lagos before she joined a pharmaceutical manufacturing company Park Davies Nigeria Ltd (now Pharma-Deko Plc) as a Medical Representative and later as a sales Manager.
Her Entrepreneurial Instinct By 1981, her entrepreneurial drive led her into the drug importation business. She imported both ethical and Over the Counter (OTC) drugs to meet the health needs of Nigerians for quality drugs and by 1984 incorporated Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries, a leading producer of a wide range of drugs – over 70 lines of products – and significant contributor to Nigeria’s gross domestic product.
The Leader Dr. Okoli is on top of leadership challenges and is in tune with current management trends. She has attended wide ranging courses across the world, to broaden her knowledge and sharpen her leadership skill. Some of these, include The Executive Management Program at Harvard Business School Boston (1997- 1999) the implementing Strategic and Organizational Change at I.E.S.E. Business School, Barcelona Spain (1996). Management Course 2002, Insead in Switzerland
and the Chief Executive Programme of the Lagos Business School. She is also a director of the Harvard Business School Nigeria. Her Quest For Knowledge She has consistently served in finding practical solutions to the perennial problems in our environment. She served as the Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMGMAN). She is an active member of many local and international professional organisations such as the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, British Chamber of Commerce, Commonwealth Pharmaceutical Association as well as Nigeria-South Africa Chamber of Commerce.
She received the Bullion Award for her outstanding contribution in the manufacturing industry. The Charity Worker A great Philanthropist and a Change Agent, she has awarded many scholar
ships to students in secondary and tertiary institutions and donated generously to the less privileged in the society and consistently supported several nonprofit organisations. A celebrated Amazon Dr. Okoli’s great entrepreneurial strides and philanthropy has won her many awards and accolades. She is a recipient of the MON and OON awards from the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, among others from several local and international distinguished groups. Her doggedness, dynamism and unparalleled energy and passion in the face of daunting odds, have made her a remarkable role model for women and all classes of entrepreneurs across Africa.
Her guiding philosophy is routed in hard work, integrity and ethical leadership. For this dogged-fighter, every challenge is a pointer to a great opportunity. Venturing into manufacturing of pharmaceutical products when she did was not a path many will want to cross but she took the bull by the horn despite the many challenges in that sector. When others see economic woes, insecurity, lack of constant power supply, she saw and still seeing opportunities. No wonder the indigenous pharmaceutical manufacturing company is still leading in the industry. Her tenacity and determination to thread dreaded path has earned her accolades. Mentoring Okoli mentors other local manufacturers and encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to invest in the pharmaceutical industry, first, as her contribution to building a healthy nation and secondly, in pursuit of Nigeria’s quest for self-sufficiency.
Indeed, Okoli has not only engrained her name and company in the minds of Nigerians, but carved a space for herself in history as a businesswoman of note. Making The Best Of An Irreparable Loss Again after losing her dear son to the cold hands of death in year 2005, she once again exhibited her inner strength when she founded the Chike Okoli Foundation (COF), a non-profit non-governmental organisation which works to fight poverty and disease by encouraging entrepreneurship and raising awareness on cardiovascular diseases.
Her passion for entrepreneurship has also led to the creation of the Chike Okoli Centre of Entrepreneurial Studies (COCES) located in the Nnamdi Azikwe University, Awka. Stella’s commitment to enterprise and the ability of Africans to pull themselves out of poverty was passed on to her son, and despite his untimely death five days after his 25th birthday to an undetected coronary artery disease, his dream for empowering others through entrepreneurship lives on through his mother. Though she felt the pain of her beloved son, she took a step further by improving lives through his memory
