History

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.

Haile’s guiding principles became the cornerstone of Coopbank’s ethos:

Coopbank’s journey has been marked by groundbreaking achievements in financial inclusion.On top of the billions of birrs the bank financed to various economic sectors over the years, Coopbank has revolutionized access to credit in Ethiopia by lending more than 13 billion birr to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) using its innovative uncollateralized digital lending platform Michu.

This transformative effort has reached over 700,000 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.

Coopbank is more than a financial institution; it’s a movement. Together, we can unlock potential, drive progress, and create opportunities for generations to come.

Welcome to Coopbank—where cooperation transforms lives.

Vision:

leading the way in financial inclusion, sustainability, and community empowerment for a brighter future.

PURPOSE:

Empowering Communities, Transforming Lives.

CORE VALUES:

S – Stewardship for Environment
C – Community Well-being
A – Accountability, Fairness, and Equity in Service Delivery
L – Living into & Respect for Tradition, Education and Innovation
E – Equal Opportunity & Inclusive Governance

MOTTO:

Empowering Communities, Transforming Lives.