Mefthe Tadesse is an international development professional with several years of experience working in commercial businesses, management consultancy, and in the NGO sphere, including on-the-ground operational work experience in Ethiopia since 2006.

Prior to taking on her role as the Regional Director for EA, Mefthe held several positions within TechnoServe. She started her career with TechnoServe Ethiopia as a Deputy Director for coffee projects. Later on, she was promoted to a Director position where she managed large-scale value chain development programs funded by donors such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Nespresso, and USAID.

As a Country Director, Mefthe provided strategic leadership to the 200+ staff in TechnoServe’s Ethiopia office, which she effectively helped scale from a single-project office to one of TechnoServe’s largest and most impactful. She successfully completed a portfolio of ten projects within her tenure as Ethiopia’s Country Director.

Prior to joining TechnoServe, Mefte Tadesse also served as the country manager of BBC Media Action in Ethiopia and, on behalf of Ernst & Young, developed privatization strategies for Ethiopian public enterprises and business process improvements for the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia. Mefthe holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of London.

“Growing up in Ethiopia, from an early age I realized that some of us in my neighborhood are likely to have better life prospects than others and not because we were any more capable but simply because of the opportunities and support system we were born into. As a teenager, it pained me to observe our lives drifting and the gap widening. Fast forward several years, I feel so fortunate that I work for an organization that brings opportunities and technical support for the not-so-fortunate but equally capable.”