Stella Chinyelu Okoli ( MON, OON) (born ) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

pharmacist, philanthropist and

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

. She is the founder and current chief executive officer of Emzor pharmaceutical manufacturing company founded in 1977.

Early life and education

Stella Okoli was born in

Kano State Kano State (Hausa: ''Jihar Kano''جىِهَر كَنوُ) (Fula: Leydi Kano 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤳𞤢𞤲𞤮𞥅 ) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajee ...

Northern Nigeria Northern Nigeria was an autonomous division within Nigeria, distinctly different from the southern part of the country, with independent customs, foreign relations and security structures. In 1962 it acquired the territory of the United Kingd ...

into the family of Felix Ebelechukwu and Margaret Modebelu, descents of

Nnewi Nnewi is a commercial and industrial city in Anambra State, southeastern Nigeria. It is the second largest and second most populous city in the southern part of the country. Nnewi as a metropolis has one local government area, which is Nnewi Nort ...

clan in

Anambra State Anambra State is a Nigerian state, located in the southeastern region of the country. The state was created on August 27, 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State to the south, Enugu State to the east and Kogi State ...

. She started her

formal education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Vari ...

in 1954 after enrolling as a pupil at All Saint Primary School, Onitsha before proceeding to complete her secondary school education in 1964 at Ogidi Girls Secondary School, Ogidi. In 1969, Stella Okoli graduated from the

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a Public university, public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be creat ...

after studying

Pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...

. She also holds an M.Sc. certificate in

Biopharmaceutical A biopharmaceutical, also known as a biological medical product, or biologic, is any pharmaceutical drug product manufactured in, extracted from, or semisynthesized from biological sources. Different from totally synthesized pharmaceuticals, t ...

after graduating from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, Chelsea College in 1971.

Career

Prior to the establishment of mzor Pharmaceutical Stella Okoli had worked in several pharmaceutical firms including Middlesex Hospital, London, Boots the Chemists Limited and Pharma-Deko. In January 1977, Stella Okoli started Emzor Pharmaceutical with the initial name "Emzor Chemists Limited" as a small pharmacy retail shop in

Somolu Somolu (or Shomolu) is a local government area (LGA) in Lagos. It is located in Southwest Nigeria, North of Lagos city and its administrative headquarters is located on Durosimi Street. Somolu Local Government is part of the Lagos East Senatorial ...

Lagos State Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, states, it is both the List of Nigerian states by population, most populous and List of Nigerian state ...

. Emzor Pharmaceutical has since become one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in Nigeria with over 50 products since its incorporation in 1984. A current member of the Economic Summit of Nigeria and the Health Matters Advisory Board of Nigeria, Stella Okoli currently serves as the Vice President of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture has served as Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria.

Philanthropy

After the death of her son Chike Okoli in 2005, Stella Okoli started the Chike Okoli Foundation in 2006 as a

non-profit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

founded with the aim of fighting against poverty and diseases by raising awareness on

cardiovascular diseases Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, ...

. She also runs the Chike Okoli Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies.

Awards and certification

Stella Okoli obtained her West African School Certificate in 1964 at Ogidi Girls’ Secondary School Ogidi, in Anambra State. She furthered her education by travelling to the United Kingdom where she got her

Bachelor of Pharmacy A Bachelor of Pharmacy (abbreviated B Pharm or PharmB or BS Pharm) is a graduate academic degree in the field of pharmacy. In many countries, this degree is a prerequisite for registration to practice as a pharmacist. Since both PharmB and Phar ...

BPharm(Hons) from Bradford University, UK in 1969. In 1971, she earned a Masters in Biopharmaceuticals from the University of London, Chelsea College. * International Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC) Award * CePATHonors Lifetime Achievement Award 2014 * Ernst and Young Lifetime Achievement Award 2016 * Institute of Directors Lifetime Achievement Award 2016 In recognition of her achievements and contributions to the health sector in Nigeria, Stella Okoli was bestowed with the

Member of the Order of the Niger Nigeria became an independent country on 1 October 1960 and in 1963 became the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The republic instituted two orders of merit: the Order of the Niger and the Order of the Federal Republic. Award The two highest honour ...

award. In 2012, she was honoured at the 17th

ThisDay ''This Day'' is a Nigerian national newspaper. It is the flagship newspaper of Leaders & Company Ltd and was first published on 22 January 1995. It has its headquarters in Apapa, Lagos State. Founded by Nduka Obaigbena, the Chairman & Editor-i ...

Annual Awards. She is also a recipient of the ECOWAS International Gold Award. She is also an alumnus of Lagos Business School,

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

, Boston an
I.E.S.E Business School
in Barcelona, Spain.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Okoli, Stella Chinyelu 1944 births Living people Nigerian pharmacists Nigerian businesspeople Nigerian women in business Alumni of the University of Bradford Alumni of King's College London Alumni of the University of London Women pharmacists Igbo people People from Anambra State