Biography

Dr. Blessed Okole joined LIFElab in September 2006 as Chief Executive Officer. He has 10 years experience in the research and development environment and 5 years experience in the South African biotechnology industry

Dr Okole held the position of Business Development Manager and Strategic Partnership Manager for CSIR Biosciences unit. He was also the interim Director for the NEPAD Southern African Network for Biosciences (SANBio) and he initially began his career as the Technology Manager at AECI. Dr. Okole has vast experience in starting up biotechnology businesses; conversant with national systems of innovation in Africa; has extensive knowledge of the small and medium Industries in the continent and he is good in analyzing businesses, managing projects and strong in negotiating business deals

Dr. Okole is a registered member with the South African Council for Natural Scientific professions. He holds a PhD from the Technical University of Berlin, Germany.