How Stella Okoli Turned ₦5,000 into a Continental Pharma Empire
In 1977, pharmacist Stella Okoli opened a tiny chemist shop in Shomolu, Lagos with just ₦5,000. She named it Emzor after her three children: Emeka, Uzoma and Edward. By 1984 she saw a bigger opportunity. Nigeria was importing drugs that could be made locally. With her father’s house as collateral, she secured a ₦100,000 loan to begin producing Emzor Paracetamol in 1985. Today Emzor Paracetamol commands about 25% of Nigeria’s pain relief market. Emzor Pharmaceuticals now offers over 140 products and operates in Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mali, India and beyond. After her son Chike died from an undetected heart condition, she founded the Chike Okoli Foundation to train young entrepreneurs and built an entrepreneurial center at Nnamdi Azikiwe University. Despite personal losses, Stella Okoli became one of Nigeria’s most powerful industrialists.
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