For a very long time now, the idea of women’s activities restricted to the kitchen has since been tossed into the trash bin. This is so because more women are becoming more educated, bold and confident. They are now eager to use their knowledge, expertise and skills to start businesses in various domains.
Many across the globe have achieved success and one of them is Dr. Stella Chinyelu Okoli. For nearly 40 years, this renowned pharmacist and entrepreneur has remained one of the very few women at the top in Nigeria. And that is no mean feat. Okoli has successfully taken pharmaceutical business a notch higher through her company, Emzor Pharmaceuticals —a leading pan-African manufacturer and distributor of medical supplies, world-class medicine, and surgical equipment. Over the years, the Nnewi, Anambra State-born businesswoman has been able to make a lasting statement with her ingenuity in the industry.
She has not only contributed to the Nigerian economy but now rubs shoulders with other female high-flyers across the shores of Africa. In pursuit of her inventiveness, Okoli —through one of her subsidiaries, Emzor Food and Beverages Limited— has forged a partnership with the United States government —represented by USAID— to establish a state-of-the-art processing facility for medical-grade groundnut paste, a critical component of life-saving ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), used in treating malnourished children.
This transformational alliance is coming after years of Nigeria relying on costly imported groundnut paste from Argentina and India. Already, Okoli and USAID have each contributed $1 million (about N760 million) to establish a UNICEF-approved groundnut paste processing facility —the second of its kind on the African continent— to ease the challenge of severe acute malnutrition affecting over 3.6 million under-5 children. Okoli, 79, has slowly grown her Emzor brand to compete globally, with an annual revenue of $40 million and approximately 1,000 employees.
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