After the Italian occupation of much of Ethiopia, two rival Ethiopian resistance fighters, the Arbegnoch, operated around Waliso: Geresu Duki; (Afaan Oromoo: Garasuu Dhukii) and Olika Dingel.

Geresu Duki (a former member of the Ethiopian Crown Prince's personal guard) was in the end the better-known – and the longer-lived of both – but Olika Dingel, a Welega Oromo, was as legendary.

In 1955 a 40 kW hydro-electric power station was built; by 1965 the installed electrical capacity was 32 kVA and the annual production 64,500 kWh.

[1] The second largest flower farm in Ethiopia, owned by the Indian company Surya Blossoms, had its official opening in Woliso on 22 June 2009.

Present at the opening was Trade and Industry Minister Girma Biru, Indian Ambassador to Ethiopia, Gurjit Sing, Oromia Regional president Abadula Gemeda, and Chairman of Karuturi Global Limited, the parent corporation of Surya Blossoms, Surya Rao.