Mr. Deribie
Asfaw

Expanding access to finance for cooperatives, farmers and MSMEs through a purpose-led banking model and digital innovation.

Deribie Asfaw is CEO of Cooperative Bank of Oromia S.C., a bank where the majority of shareholding is owned by cooperatives and farmers.

Before taking on his current position, Deribie served as Vice President, Customer Accounts and Transaction Services at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia. He brings more than 27 years of banking-industry experience.

Under his leadership, Coopbank’s customer base has grown from approximately 420,000 in 2015 to about 16 million, while the bank’s assets have reached ETB 202 billion.

The bank’s innovative uncollateralised digital lending platform, Michu, has reached more than 3.3 million MSME loan accounts and disbursed over ETB 63 billion. Coopbank has also expanded to more than 698 branches nationwide.

Today, Coopbank is a major financier of agriculture, with a distinctive business model designed to support cooperatives, farmers and MSMEs while extending access to finance across Ethiopia.