Bunna International Bank
Bunna International Bank is an Ethiopian private commercial bank established by a broad shareholder base in 2009.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
Bunna International Bank is a privately owned Ethiopian commercial bank. The institution was established in 2009 by more than 10,000 shareholders and received its banking license from the National Bank of Ethiopia on 25 June 2009. Its formation placed it among Ethiopia’s private banking institutions at a time when the country’s financial sector was expanding beyond the long-established state-owned banks. The bank’s establishment involved subscribed capital of 308 million Ethiopian birr and paid-up capital of 156 million birr. The unusually large shareholder base is a notable feature of its ownership structure: rather than being associated with a single widely recognized industrial owner, the bank was created through participation by thousands of shareholders. The bank’s name is also sometimes rendered as “Buna International Bank,” although “Bunna International Bank” is the Wikipedia article title and the form used for this dossier. Bunna operates as a general commercial bank serving the Ethiopian market. The available reference material does not provide a complete current product catalogue, branch count, digital-banking portfolio, or detailed segmentation of its customer base, so its offering is best described at the level of commercial banking rather than through unsupported claims about individual products. Its business scope is therefore understood to include conventional banking activities conducted under Ethiopian banking regulation, while the exact mix of retail, corporate, institutional, deposit, lending, payment, and foreign-exchange services is not fully documented in the supplied sources. The bank reported revenue of 625 million Ethiopian birr in June 2019, representing a 46 percent increase from the previous fiscal year. This indicates a period of significant expansion, although the available material does not specify the accounting basis, exact fiscal-year dates, or the components of revenue. In February 2025, reported total assets reached 54.53 billion birr and deposits reached 43.87 billion birr, with deposits described as having increased by 20 percent. These figures point to a substantial increase in scale over the bank’s early years, but they should be interpreted with the stated dates and without treating them as independently audited current figures. Mulugeta Alemayehu became chief executive officer on 12 September 2018 after previously serving as a vice-president of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia. His appointment marks the clearest leadership transition identified in the available reference material. Beyond this executive information, publicly supplied sources do not establish a complete historical list of directors, senior officers, shareholders, or later leadership changes. Bunna International Bank’s market identity is that of an Ethiopian private commercial bank focused on participation in the domestic banking system and expansion of its balance sheet and deposit base. It is not the similarly named coffee company or another international financial institution. The bank’s principal market is Ethiopia, and no evidence in the supplied material establishes a significant international operating footprint. Current detailed information about its branches, technology platforms, ownership changes, financial performance after February 2025, and corporate communications remains limited.
History
Bunna International Bank is an Ethiopian private commercial bank founded in 2009. Its creation was based on the participation of more than 10,000 shareholders, giving the institution a broad ownership structure from the outset. The bank obtained a license from the National Bank of Ethiopia on 25 June 2009 and was formally established on 10 October of the same year. At formation, the bank reported subscribed capital of 308 million Ethiopian birr and paid-up capital of 156 million birr. These figures represented the initial financial foundation for its entry into Ethiopia’s private banking sector. The available reference does not identify a single individual founder; instead, it attributes the institution’s establishment to the large shareholder group. The bank subsequently developed as a domestic commercial banking institution. The supplied material does not provide a full chronology of branch openings, product introductions, digital services, mergers, acquisitions, or changes in ownership. Accordingly, the documented history is more strongly centered on licensing, capitalization, management, and reported financial growth than on individual consumer or corporate product launches. A significant leadership event occurred in September 2018, when Mulugeta Alemayehu became chief executive officer. Before joining Bunna as CEO, he had served as a vice-president of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia. His appointment connected Bunna’s management with experience from Ethiopia’s largest and longest-established banking institution, although the available sources do not describe the strategic program associated with the transition. In June 2019, the bank’s revenue was reported at 625 million Ethiopian birr, representing a 46 percent increase compared with the previous fiscal year. The reference material presents this as evidence of growth, but does not provide a detailed income statement, the precise reporting period, or a breakdown between interest and non-interest income. By February 2025, the bank was reported to have total assets of 54.53 billion birr and deposits of 43.87 billion birr. Deposits were described as having risen by 20 percent. These later figures suggest a substantial expansion in the scale of the institution compared with its founding capital and the 2019 revenue figure. The supplied source does not provide sufficient information to assess profitability, capital adequacy, asset quality, branch distribution, or the exact basis on which the 2025 figures were calculated. Bunna International Bank’s documented identity is therefore that of a shareholder-founded Ethiopian private commercial bank that obtained regulatory authorization in 2009, developed under professional banking leadership, and expanded its reported assets and deposit base over time. Information about its current executive team beyond the identified CEO, current shareholder composition, product architecture, technology strategy, international activities, and post-2025 performance remains unavailable in the supplied reference material.
- 2025
Reported expansion in assets and deposits
[1]Reported February 2025 figures placed total assets at 54.53 billion birr and deposits at 43.87 billion birr, with deposits increasing by 20 percent.
- 2019
Reported revenue growth
[1]Revenue was reported at 625 million Ethiopian birr in June 2019, up 46 percent from the previous fiscal year.
- 2018
Mulugeta Alemayehu becomes CEO
[1]Mulugeta Alemayehu assumed the chief executive role on 12 September 2018 after serving as a vice-president of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia.
- 2009
Banking license granted
[1]The National Bank of Ethiopia granted Bunna International Bank a license on 25 June 2009.
- 2009
Institution established
[1]Bunna International Bank was established on 10 October 2009 by more than 10,000 shareholders.
Products and positioning
An Ethiopian privately owned commercial bank characterized by broad shareholder participation and domestic balance-sheet expansion.
Commercial banking · 2009
Commercial banking services
Bunna International Bank operates as a private commercial bank in Ethiopia. The supplied reference confirms its institutional category but does not provide a sufficiently detailed catalogue of named products, channels, or customer segments. Its commercial-banking scope is therefore recorded at a general level rather than expanded with unverified service claims.
Brand decisions
2018
Appointment of a new chief executiveStrategyBackground
Bunna International Bank appointed Mulugeta Alemayehu as chief executive officer on 12 September 2018. He brought prior experience as a vice-president of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia.
Action taken
The bank changed its top executive leadership and placed Mulugeta Alemayehu in the CEO role.
Aftermath
The available source later records substantial reported revenue, asset, and deposit growth, but does not establish that these results were caused by the appointment.
Recent events
- 2025
Assets and deposits expand in 2025[1]
Other
Reported figures for February 2025 put total assets at 54.53 billion Ethiopian birr and deposits at 43.87 billion birr, with deposits described as up 20 percent.
- 2019
Bank revenue rises to 625 million birr[1]
Other
Revenue was reported at 625 million Ethiopian birr as of June 2019, an increase of 46 percent from the previous fiscal year.
- 2018
Bunna International Bank appoints Mulugeta Alemayehu as chief executive[1]
Leadership change
Mulugeta Alemayehu became chief executive officer on 12 September 2018 after serving as a vice-president of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia.
- 2009
Bunna International Bank receives its Ethiopian banking license[1]
Other
The National Bank of Ethiopia granted Bunna International Bank its license on 25 June 2009, enabling it to operate as a private commercial bank.
- 2009
Bunna International Bank established by more than 10,000 shareholders[1]
Other
The institution was established on 10 October 2009 with subscribed capital of 308 million Ethiopian birr and paid-up capital of 156 million birr.
Sources1 sources
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