Ethiopia

Tsegaye Yeshiwas has spent his career helping organisations capture, organise, and share knowledge that drives meaningful change. Beginning his professional journey as a journalist in Ethiopia's media sector, he learned how to uncover stories, communicate complex issues clearly, and connect evidence with audiences. Those skills later became the foundation of his work in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector, where knowledge is most valuable when it informs decisions, strengthens systems, and improves services.

For nearly two decades, Girmachew Addisu has explored a question that continues to shape his work: why do some systems adapt and improve while others struggle to respond to increasingly complex challenges? His career began at Woldia University before moving to the Abbay Basin Authority, where he spent five years studying water resources across the Upper Blue Nile. There, the challenges appeared technical: declining water quality, growing competition between users, and increasing pressure on finite resources.

Nebiyu Gashawbeza is a Civil Engineer and WASH professional with over nine years of experience in Ethiopia's water and sanitation sector. Since 2019, he has been working with IRC WASH Ethiopia, specialising in water utility strengthening, rural and urban water supply, institutional capacity development, and sustainable WASH service delivery. He aspires to help accelerate progress toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 by strengthening water governance, enhancing service delivery, and building the capacity of local institutions.

Muhammed Ebrahim Mussa is a Public Health Specialist with a background in Environmental Health Science and more than 20 years of professional experience in the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sector. Throughout his career, he has served as a WASH Systems Strengthening Officer, WASH Governance Specialist, WASH Systems Advisor, Senior Sanitation and Hygiene Specialist, Environmental Health Technician, and Assistant Lecturer, working with government institutions and development partners.

Gezahegn Lemecha is a water and sanitation and Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) systems specialist with more than 30 years of experience supporting governments and development partners to improve how public services are planned, governed, financed, and delivered. He believes that lasting development is achieved not through isolated projects, but by building capable institutions, fostering meaningful partnerships, and creating systems that continue to serve people long after projects have ended.

Betelhem Asegid Betre is a Finance and Administration Officer at IRC WASH Ethiopia, where she has worked since June 2018, first as Office Manager and, since July 2019, in her current role overseeing budgeting, payments, payroll, tax compliance, and audit-ready financial documentation alongside broader office administration. She brings over 10 years of combined experience in finance and administrative roles across public and private organisations, including earlier positions as a data encoder and secretary within an audit practice.

Betelhem Gebeyehu believes that the greatest barrier to sustainable and resilient public services is not technology but the gap between what institutions are expected to deliver and the systems they rely on to achieve it.

Betelhem has spent her career understanding why some public services continue improving long after projects end while others struggle to sustain progress. Her conclusion is clear: lasting change depends on whether governments have the evidence, leadership, and institutional capacity to keep learning, adapting, and making better decisions over time.

Michael Abera has over 20 years of professional experience in the development sector, with expertise in information management, technology for development, and project management. Michael studied Statistics and Computer Science at Addis Ababa University and has built a career focused on leveraging information and technology to strengthen development initiatives. 

Michael currently serves as Information Systems Manager at Riva, where he is based in Ethiopia.

Fretsega Girma is the HR, Finance & Support Team Manager for Riva Ethiopia based in Addis Ababa. She is responsible for overseeing all areas of Finance & Administration of Riva in Ethiopia. Fretsega has over 10 years of experience in Finance and Administration, working in the private and development sectors in Ethiopia.

Lemessa Mekonta began his career in groundwater development for human uses, which involves mapping groundwater occurrence and dynamics – learning to read what lies beneath the surface, and how it behaves. That instinct for going deeper than what is immediately visible has stayed with him. For two and half decades, it has shaped how he reads institutions and systems and discovers what’s holding them back.