Co-operative Group Chief Executive Officer Dr Gideon Muriuki has been conferred with The Doctor of Humane Letters (HONORIS CAUSA) by Africa International University.
This is the third honorary doctorate Dr Muriuki has been honoured with for his innovative approach in developing Kenya’s financial sector through the tier one lender he has been leading since 2001.
Dr Muriuki was appointed to head the bank following a historic Ksh 2.3 billion loss has been instrumental in turning around the Co-operative Bank to become Kenya’s third largest bank with total assets amounting to over Ksh 600 billion from Ksh 24 billion two decades ago as profits rose to Ksh 22.6 billion last year.
“At AIU, we understand strategic entrepreneurship to be a conscious managerial leadership approach that embraces innovations within a business enterprise that involves the combination and integration of opportunity and advantage-seeking operations and leadership behaviour,” said AIU.
“In this sense, strategic entrepreneurship, which AIU discerns in his leadership and governance strategy, focuses on the transformation of a business entity through innovative leadership. Dr Muriuki has embraced and internalized principles and practices of good corporate governance and enterprise sustainability.”
Through innovative approach to provide tailor made banking solution to customers, under Dr Muriuki, Co-op Bank has increased its customer base from 125,000 in 2001, to over 9 million while branches expanded from 27 to 180 branches in Kenya and four in South Sudan. ATM network has also risen from just 3 to 589.
Additionally, customer deposits have increased from Ksh 17 billion in 2001, to over Ksh 420 billion today.
Dr Muriuki is also accredited for rolling out critical banking services that have been core to the lender’s growth such as retail banking, SME banking, co-operatives banking, fund management, corporate finance and advisory services.
The Co-operative Bank of Kenya is now supporting wholesale and retail banking linkages with the over 15 million member co-operative movement through 22,000 co-operative societies who intern own 64.pc of the bank.
“Within the framework of strategic thinking, he has led a management team at Cooperative Bank that has upheld the Bank as an entity that highly regards its vision and mission and which also ensures that the institution has the best leadership to uphold corporate governance principles and values,” added AIU.
Dr Muriuki was already conferred a Doctorate (Honoris causa) in Business Leadership by Kabarak University in 2011, and a second Doctorate of Humane Letters (Honoris causa)- DLITT by the Co-operative University of Kenya in February 2022.
