Hope Enterprises or Hope is a local NGO that was established in 1971 in Addis Ababa to help the needy help themselves through basic needs, education, competence, job and business mediation and value education. As Hope was completing its 32 years of humanitarian service in 2003, it’s then Executive Director, Dr. Minas Hiruy, recommended to the Board the establishment of an outstanding liberal arts university college by submitting a full-fledged proposal. After some discussion, the Board and the General Assembly of Hope accepted the proposal, establishing Hope University College as the first public benefits institution of higher learning in the country on November 25, 2003. Soon after, the Board adopted a new structure comprising the Ladders of Hope that subsumed the existing and non-college activities of Hope as one division and Hope University College as another division, opening the way for the university college to operate autonomously. With Dr. Minas being appointed as the founding president of the university college starting from July 1, 2004, the development of the institution began to roll step by step. The city government leased to Hope five hectares of prime land in Addis Ababa for the amount of 14.95 Million Birr to build the various complexes of the university college. The master plan of the university college was designed free of charge by an international firm called Geluk Treurniet Architecten of the Netherlands and was handed over to Hope on November 11, 2004 in a ceremony in Rotterdam, where the Minster of Development Cooperation and the Ethiopian Consul were guests of honor. Dr. Minas began the fundraising phase preparing a project proposal requiring an initial investment cost of Birr 46,124,435.00 for the construction and equipping of the university college and distributed the same to various donors. Woord & Daad, the major donor of Hope Enterprises, was the first organization that he approached for help. Woord & Daad was supportive of the proposal and decided to fund a third of the expenses provided that Hope raised the remaining funding first. This pledge was not only an important seed fund but also a motivating note to get Dr. Minas running on the fundraising trail. Dr. Minas did indeed cover a lot of funding sources within country and abroad.

Values
The University College believes in goodwill to humankind and to nature and in the concretization of this concern as a step to making the world a community of hope, justice, peace and progress. The University College holds dear the advancement of liberal education as a means of personal and social transformation and regards the provision of education to all as an important public responsibility.
Vision
The vision of the University College is to contribute to the renewal and transformation of society through knowledge and value based education and graduates who can make a difference using what they had gained in the university college.
Mission
The University College, having a mission to provide aspiring leaders the option of pursuing world-class education without leaving their country and cultural setting, shall enable the development of leaders, who being capable of independent work, problem solving, analysis, innovation and reflection, can make a difference in the development of society and in mutually and sustainably supportive relations between man and nature.
Mission Statement
Developing leadership for a world of hope