Roya Mahboob

Afghan tech entrepreneur empowering women through digital literacy

Roya Mahboob (b. 1987), named to TIME's 100 Most Influential People in 2013, founded Digital Citizen Fund to combat gender inequality in Afghanistan's tech sector. After surviving Taliban rule, she became her country's first female tech CEO in 2010.

Her Women's Annex platform trained over 20,000 women in coding and digital storytelling between 2012-2015. Through blockchain-based cryptocurrency payments, Mahboob circumvented banking restrictions to compensate female contributors directly.

What makes Mahboob's work revolutionary is her integration of decentralized technology with cultural sensitivity. Her team's 2021 evacuation of 250 female coders during the Taliban takeover demonstrated tech activism's lifesaving potential. Current projects include AI literacy programs in refugee camps and an NFT-based education fund preserving Afghan women's digital histories.