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October, 2026

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From 15,600 birr to Billions: Zerihun Sheleme on Awach, Cooperative Finance and Ethiopia’s Inclusion Gap（https://birrmetrics.com/from-15600-birr-to-billions-zerihun-sheleme-on-awach-cooperative-finance-and-ethiopias-inclusion-gap/）

Mignot Tariku（https://birrmetrics.com/author/mignot/）

May 29, 2026

Zerihun Sheleme Erensa is the founder and chief executive officer of Awach Savings and Credit Cooperative, one of Ethiopia’s most prominent savings and credit cooperative organizations. Born and raised in Addis Ababa, Zerihun’s journey began far from the formal financial sector. After completing high school at Keftegna 12, he continued his education while working, first earning a diploma, then a degree, and later a master’s in Business Management from Jimma University. He also pursued further education in the Netherlands through a scholarship.

Before founding Awach, Zerihun spent many years working with local and international non-governmental organizations, mainly on programmes supporting mothers, young people and low-income communities. That experience, combined with his own struggle to access finance, shaped the idea behind Awach.

Established on March 22, 2007, Awach began with 41 members and 15,600 birr. By March 2026, according to Awach’s own published figures, it had reached 166,493 members, mobilised 13.6 billion birr in members’ savings, built 18.7 billion birr in assets, and disbursed more than 28.66 billion birr in loans. In this interview with Mignot Tariku, Zerihun discusses the origins of Awach, the role of SACCOs in financial inclusion, regulation, cooperative finance, and his ambition to build stronger institutions for communities often excluded by banks.

Birrmetrics: You started working at a young age before entering the development sector. How did those early experiences shape you?

Zerihun Sheleme: grew up doing different kinds of work from childhood. I worked as a day labourer, and at one point I even collected firewood and charcoal. My first formal job was as a social worker in an NGO. Later, I worked in a sponsorship programme as a Micro Enterprise Development Officer and eventually became a programme coordinator.

The NGO I worked for supported mothers and young people. At the time, Ethiopia’s financial sector was still at an early stage. If people needed money to buy household items or meet other needs, there were very few institutions willing to lend to them. Many people relied on equb , waiting for their turn to receive money or household goods.

That experience showed me the gap. We asked ourselves: why not establish a cooperative that helps people save and borrow together? With 41 members and 15,600 birr, we founded Awach almost 19 years ago, while I was still working at the NGO. I served as volunteer chairperson for four years. I later left NGO work and became Awach’s first employee and manager.

My first salary was 150 birr. When I became a permanent employee, my salary rose to 340 birr. At the time, my biggest monthly expense was about 70 birr. I used to travel around 40 kilometres from Addis Ababa to Chancho, on the road to Gojam, to support my mother. With small amounts of money, I would buy milk, eggs, cooking gas, onions and other basic items. Life was modest, but with planning, we were able to live decently.

What personal experience first convinced you that Ethiopia needed a cooperative finance model like Awach?

After I got married in 1996, my wife and I lived for two years without a television at home. I wrote about this in my book as well. I kept asking myself: how do people build their lives? How do they buy a house? How do they buy a car?

At one point, my mother gave me a plot of land and told me to build a house. I prepared a plan and went to banks and other institutions to ask for a loan. But they told me they could only facilitate microfinance loans for things like cement purchases.

At the same time, I was seeing mothers in our programme saving five birr and 10 birr to buy televisions and household items. I thought: if these mothers can organise themselves and solve their problems, why can’t we do the same?

That is how Awach was conceived. We named it Awach because it means something that contributes or brings value. It was born from hardship. Its main purpose was not profit. It was created as a business model through which people with similar needs could come together and solve common problems. But for sustainability, we had to run it professionally and generate profit.

Today, Awach has more than 164,000 members, 13.7 billion birr in assets and more than 20.3 billion birr in loans disbursed, according to figures published by the cooperative. The bigger issue is not simply lending money. It is what people do with the loans. Financial access in Ethiopia is still limited. We financed thousands of vehicles for people providing taxi and ride-hailing services in Addis Ababa, including through platforms such as Ride and Feres. Many young people became vehicle owners and built wealth.

When Vitz cars were available for around 200,000 birr, we started financing them. Some of those young people are now millionaires because the value of the cars increased while they were also earning income from them.

We also want to help people become homeowners. The idea is to support members to build or buy homes, rent them out if possible, and grow their income. Our focus is on communities that banks often do not reach.

Some people say access to loans from SACCOs can still be difficult. How do you respond to that?

We do not have a liquidity problem. In fact, at times we are over-liquid and place money in time deposits with banks.

But there is often a misunderstanding about how we work. We are not a loan-and-savings institution. We are a savings-and-loans institution. A member must first save for at least six months. Banks and microfinance institutions usually lend based on collateral. We are different. We believe that if someone can save consistently, they are more likely to repay a loan.

After saving for six months, members must meet certain credit criteria. Some people are not ready for that. For example, they may need to bring proof from the kebele about their marital status. If a member is married, the spouse must be aware of the loan. If the wife borrows, the husband must know. If the husband borrows, the wife must know. We do not give loans without spousal recognition and signatures.

We lend up to four times the amount a member has saved. For members who have saved properly and fulfilled the requirements, we can provide loans in less than one month. But sometimes people come without enough information, without enough savings, or without fulfilling the necessary criteria. In such cases, more awareness creation may be needed, including from our side.

The point is that we also have a responsibility not to push people into debt. We assess repayment capacity and look at whether the business or activity they are involved in is viable. We do not want members to borrow in a way that forces them to sell their homes or fall into distress.

What role can SACCOs play in Ethiopia’s broader financial inclusion agenda?

Across Africa, SACCOs and cooperatives have played a major role in finance. Kenya is a good example. Cooperatives there contribute significantly to the economy, including through finance, agriculture, housing and dairy.

In Ethiopia, cooperatives are many in number, but their capacity remains small. Their contribution to GDP is still limited. If we want real financial access, we must use cooperatives in agriculture, finance and other sectors. There is no bank specifically serving farmers at scale. There is no bank specifically serving young people. Most existing banks focus mainly on businesses and traders. So who lends to the farmer? Who lends to the youth?

Countries such as Kenya and Tanzania have made progress by strengthening cooperative finance. Ethiopia needs to do the same. Government support is important. Non-governmental organisations should also support this area.