Dr Ayalew is the Programme Coordinator of the MOre Young Entrepreneurs in Honey and Silk (MOYESH) Programme, and leads a few other projects.

He joined icipe after having served the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) on secondment from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) as Director of the Livestock Value Chains. Major responsibilities of the position were: overall direction of the livestock value chains interventions; identification and prioritisation of livestock development interventions; developing and promoting coherent stakeholder participation; facilitation of resource mobilisation, assessing of major capacity gaps and monitoring of performance on interventions.

Prior to this, Dr Ayalew worked for eight years in Papua New Guinea, as the Deputy Director General (Research) of the country's National Agricultural Research Institute, and as Livestock Research and Development Coordinator and Principal Livestock Scientist. Previously, he held positions in the ILRI–Ethiopia office, FARM-Africa and Alemaya University, Ethiopia.

He holds a PhD in animal production and breeding from the Georg-August University of Goettingen in Germany (2000), MSc in animal breeding from Alemaya University in Ethiopia (1992) and BSc (Honours) in animal sciences from Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia (1984).