Stella Chinyelu Okoli

Dr Stella Chinyelu Okoli was born in 1944 in Kano state, Nigeria. She is a Nigerian pharmacist, entrepreneur and the founder of Emzor Pharmaceutical, a pharmaceutical manufacturing company.

Stella Chinyelu Okoli Age

Not available.

Stella Chinyelu Okoli Early Life

Stella emerged as the eldest child of her family, she was born into the family of Felix Ebelechukwu and Margaret Modebelu, descents of Nnewi in Anambra State. Despite being born to a wealthy chief as a father, who according to Igbo culture would have preferred a boy child, Stella didn’t let this limit her or her potentials. She grew into a laudable, perspicacious girl who her loved and founded a movement with the sole purpose of appreciating girl child. 

In 1954 Stella started her academic education at All Saint Primary School, Onitsha before proceeding to complete her secondary school education in 1964 at Ogidi Girls Secondary School, Ogidi. She also attended Federal Science School Lagos from 1964-1966. She thereafter, studied pharmacy at the University of Bradford, graduating in 1969. She also obtained an M.Sc in Bio-pharmaceutical from the University of London, Chelsea College in 1971.

Stella Chinyelu Okoli Career

Prior to beginning Emzor Pharmaceuticals, Stella worked for other pharmaceutical firms which include Middlesex Hospital, London, Boots the Chemists Limited and Pharma-Deko. In 1977, she launched Emzor Pharmaceutical as a small pharmacy retail shop called “Emzor Chemists Limited” and located in Somulu, Lagos State. The retail shop grew and metamorphosed to not just buying and selling already produced drugs but also manufacturing its own drugs. And today it has grown to have a range of over 50 products of which includes the popular, very affordable and effective Emzor Paracetamol.

The company which was fully incorporated in Nigeria in 1984, was geared towards manufacturing drugs locally, predicated upon the need to develop local capabilities and competencies, create jobs and provide high-quality pharmaceutical products and services to Nigerians at prices that are not only affordable but represent value. From retail to importation and wholesales of pharmaceutical products, the company commenced pilot manufacturing in 1986. This culminated in the introduction of its flagship brand, Emzor Paracetamol, which currently controls 25 per cent of the analgesic market in the country. 

Emzor has since continuously expanded its product range, growing in leaps and bounds. It now produces over 60 time-tested products, which include analgesics, vitamins, haematinics, anti-malarials, anti-tussives, antibiotics, anti-helmintics, anti-histamine, antacid, and cardio-protective drugs in Nigeria and in the West Coast of Africa. Emzor Pharmaceuticals has established offices in India, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, and Mali. 

The rapid expansion of Emzor Pharmaceuticals has also led to the establishment of several subsidiaries, which includes Zolon Healthcare Limited, Lagos, a specialty health care organisation positioned for the provision of intelligent health care solutions to the needs of the people; this was achieved by building partnerships with world-class health organisations. Specialties in this subsidiary include Cardiology, Endocrinology, Neuropsychiatry, Oncology, Biotechnology, Ophthalmology, Gastroenterology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatric and Geriatric Medicine, as well as Health Fairs/Seminars. 

She has held several professional leadership positions, which include Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group, (PMG) of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, (MAN). 

Stella Chinyelu Okoli Personal Life

For a woman in her seventies, Stella is a ravishingly beautiful woman, who was married to late Barrister Nnaemeka Christopher Ozuomba OKoli who died in 2014 at age 71. Although Stella and her late husband had had a strained relationship since 2000 due to some ‘irreconcilable differences’, she nevertheless looked after him when his health experienced a downward slope in 2004 after he was diagnosed of lung cancer and he had to regularly visit the UK for chemotherapy.

She is also a loving grandmother and proud mother of three children, Emeka Okoli, Uzoma Okoli, and (Late) Chike Okoli. She loves music, travelling and meeting people. She spends her spare time on charitable work and services to humanity.

Dr. Okoli is also passionate about philanthropy. She has had a bittersweet experience as a mother. She started the Chike Okoli Foundation after the death of her son, who died 5 days after his 25th birthday to an undetected coronary artery disease. He was a talented lawyer and promising entrepreneur, whose loss devastated the family. The foundation is aimed at fighting poverty and diseases by raising awareness on cardiovascular diseases. She also set up the Chike Okoli Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies.

Stella Chinyelu Okoli Awards

She holds the following awards; 

• Member of the Order of the Niger (MON)
• She was honoured at the ThisDay Annual Awards in 2012.
• She is a recipient of the ECOWAS International Gold Award.
• She was the Trinity House of Nigeria awardee for th Industrialist of the year at Honour Nigeria 2017
• In 2018, she was bestowed the Silverbird Lifetime Achievement Award

Stella Chinyelu Okoli Net Worth

Stella Chinyelu Okoli is estimated to have a net worth of about $600 million

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