Cooperative Bank of Oromia
Private commercial bank in Ethiopia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cooperative Bank of Oromia (stylized as coop or coopbank) is a private commercial bank in Ethiopia, established in 2005 by Obbo Haile Gebre Lube. As per their last published annual report (2025-25), the Cooperative Bank now has a total asset value ETB 189.4 billion.[1] The bank has over 750 branches, 14.5 million account holders and 15,327 employees.[citation needed][2] The bank's headquarters is located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.[3]
 | This article contains promotional content. (March 2023) |
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| Company type | Share company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial institution |
| Founded | 8 March 2005 |
| Founder | Obbo Haile Gebre Lube |
| Headquarters | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
Number of locations | 750 (2025) |
Key people |
|
| Products | Financial services |
| Total assets | 189.4 billion ETB (As per the report report 2025) |
Number of employees | 15,327 (As per the report 2025 |
| Website | coopbankoromia |
History
Summarize
Perspective
In the early 2000s, Ethiopia’s rural communities faced a stark reality: financial exclusion that left farmers and small businesses without the resources to thrive. Amid this challenge, a visionary named Haile Gebre Lube emerged, determined to transform lives and unlock the potential of Ethiopia’s underserved populations. Guided by the belief that “the best way to fight poverty is through cooperation,” Haile embarked on a mission to create a financial institution rooted in community and collaboration.
Haile Gebre Lube established a project office In 2002 with a bold ambition: to build a bank that prioritized access to capital for the most vulnerable. By March 2005, this vision became a reality as Coopbank opened its doors, driven by a mission to empower individuals, foster partnerships, and enable sustainable growth.
Coopbank’s journey has been marked by groundbreaking achievements in financial inclusion. On top of the billions of ETB the bank financed to various economic sectors over the years, Coopbank has revolutionized access to credit in Ethiopia by lending several tens of billions to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) using its innovative uncollateralized digital lending platform Michu. This transformative effort has reached millions of individuals, the majority being youth and women, through innovative digital lending solutions that eliminate the need for collateral. These initiatives have reshaped Ethiopia’s banking landscape, where historically, fewer than 500,000 borrowers had access to formal credit according to the financial stability report by the National Bank of Ethiopia.
Moreover, the bank’s cutting-edge technologies, such as FarmPass, have revolutionized the agricultural sector. These innovations enable farmers to access markets, secure loans, and benefit from tailored agri-finance solutions, creating sustainable opportunities for growth. [5]
See also
References
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