Water resource development in Ethiopia’s upper Blue Nile River basin is threatened by soil erosion from upstream areas and subsequent sedimentation downstream. Improper land utilization and management techniques and inadequate water and soil conservation efforts have resulted in soil erosion in Ethiopia’s upper Blue Nile River basins. The present study was conducted using a geospatial, morphometric, and weighted sum approach to identify soil erosion-prone zones in the Beshlo River’s sub-watersheds, upper Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia. Advanced spaceborne thermal emission and reflection radiometer digital elevation model (ASTER DEM) was utilized to extract the stream network, while sub-watersheds were identified using ArcGIS software. Eight sub-watersheds were identified in the study area, and morphometric analyses were conducted. Based on the study’s findings, sub-watersheds were prioritized using a compound factor approach that considers the impact of morphometric characteristics on soil erosion. According to the results, sub-watersheds (1, 3 and 8) are highly susceptible to soil erosion and runoff, whereas sub-watersheds (2 and 7) and (4, 5 and 6) are moderately and lowly susceptible, respectively. Preferential soil and water conservation planning may be considered for these sub-watersheds because of their high and moderate soil erosion proneness. The use of geospatial-compound factor approach techniques allows for the estimation of erosion levels in sub-watersheds. Additionally, this method is particularly useful in remote, rugged, and unreachable watersheds where traditional soil erosion and runoff monitoring is not practical.