Rift Valley University is the largest private University in Ethiopia, with campuses in all Regional states of the country, and in Hargeisa, Somali Land. The University was founded on the belief that delivering quality education plays a crucial role in boosting the human and economic development of the country. We believe university graduates play leading roles in realizing the goal of becoming a middle-income nation in the coming two decades.
When students first arrived at Adama University in October 2000, they were met with a far different sight than the one they see today. The campus was small, with one modern building and a few separate blocks of administrative offices, laboratories, and classrooms. Ato Dinku Deyasa, a well-known investor and the owner of NAFYAD PLC, and Ato Reta Bekele, a former President of Adama and Jima High Courts, had a vision to create a private higher education institution to address the country’s lack of qualified personnel. To identify the most desired fields of study, a needs analysis was conducted in and around Adama and Asella towns. Based on the results, the founders made all the necessary preparations to offer diploma-level courses in Accounting, Computer Science, Law, Marketing Management, and Secretarial Science and Office Management.
Rift Valley University began operations in October 2000 in Adama Town, with a capital of 1,300,000 Eth. Birr, a total number of 154 evening program students, and five part time faculty staff. The Asella branch campus was begun three months later with Accounting, Law and Marketing Management being the fields of study. This new “learning community” was housed in just one rented block that consisted of a single administrative office and a few classrooms; by the end of the year 2000/2001 academic year, total enrollment at the two locations was about 250 students in the five diploma programs of study.
In September 2003 and 2004, Gotera and Batu branch campuses came into being respectively; Bishoftu campus was created two years later followed by two other branch campuses – namely, Dire Dawa and Chiro, which went functional in August/September 2005. Bole and Gulele came into being in October 2005. Harar campus was created in October 2006.
When the institution was empowered to grant a bachelor’s degree, accounting, business management and law were the first academic programs on offer on the campus in Adama.
