Tesfay's first international competition was the 2012 IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics, where she finished 4th in the women's 3000 metres run.

[1] In 2013, Tesfay won the African Junior Championships title in the 3000m with a time of 9:32.3.

[1] Later that year, she beat Ruti Aga to win the Ethiopian Clubs Cross Champs.

[2] In 2015, Tesfay moved up in distance at the 2015 African Games, where she finished 6th in the 5000 metres.

She would move further up to the 10,000 metres distance in 2018, with a 7th place showing at the African Championships.