Women of the Blockchain: Roya Mahboob

The adversity that countless women face around the world for aspiring to have successful careers is something many of us will never encounter. In counties like Afghanistan, women have to push through these barriers on a daily basis. The innovative contributions from entrepreneurs like Roya Mahboob are shaping a brighter future for young women by educating them on the technologies that will better their lives and open doors to sustainable careers.

Roya serves as President of the Digital Citizen Fund, where she’s helped build internet classrooms, allowing girls to develop technological skills that open up limitless doors towards business and entrepreneurship. She co-founded the Women’s Annex Foundation (WAF) alongside Fereshteh Forough, where they blew doors down for girls by providing a platform to communicate their stories through blogs, participate in the social media platforms that run the world, and learn computer skills and software development.

The idea of Bitcoin was introduced to Mahboob in 2013 as a reliable payment option for WAF users. Not only would Bitcoin reduce the risk of cash theft for thousands of girls in Afghanistan, but it would allow these women to obtain full control of their money. Financial freedom is not a concept that seemed accessible for the young women using WAF until Mahboob carved a new path for them using cryptocurrency.

Combining social and computer education with the anonymous power of Bitcoin has created an uprising in intelligent, empowered women pursuing business ventures, start ups, and entrepreneurship like never before. Digital literacy is the foundation to this success, and Roya Mahboob has been laying it for years with no plans of stopping.

Paying her users in BTC was only the beginning. Now, she dedicates time to education in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, while teaching women how to manage their finances. She recently announced her plans to organize a Bitcoin conference in Afghanistan in order to showcase the projects of Afghan entrepreneurs in the space. She also hopes to launch a blockchain powered marketplace targeting women using smart contracts for loans and insurance.

I have no doubt that the strides made by Roya Mahboob are only the first laps in what will be a long race to integrate this revolutionary technology into the lives of young girls, many of whom will likely create the platforms of our future.