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Roya Mahboob

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Roya Mahboob
Born
Herat, Afghanistan
Alma materHerat University
OccupationBusinesswoman
Known forFounder and CEO of Afghan Citadel Software Company

Roya Mahboob is an Afghan entrepreneur and businesswoman.[1] She founded and serves as CEO of the Afghan Citadel Software Company, a full-service software development company based in Herat, Afghanistan.[2] She has received attention for being one of the only female CEOs in Afghanistan[3], where it is still relatively rare for women to work outside the home.[1][4] She is also known for her work with online film distribution platform and Web Television Network Film Annex on the Afghan Development Project.[5]

Biography

Mahboob was born in Herat, but left Afghanistan with her family in the wake of the Soviet invasion to live in Iran.[6] She returned to Afghanistan in 2003 and learned English by volunteering at a French NGO specializing in media.[4] She enrolled in information and communications technology courses offered for women by the United Nations Development Programme later that year, and earned her Bachelor’s Degree of Computer Science for information and communications technology at Herat University in 2009 and her Master’s Degree of Information Technology from WorldWide Science in Malaysia [7][8] in May 2011. She was included in an inaugural class of seven Afghan entrepreneurs as part of the Herat Information Technology Program, an off-shoot of the Task Force for Business and Stability Operations in Afghanistan, which was founded by Paul Brinkley, the former deputy undersecretary of defense, in 2010.[1]

Career

Mahboob founded the Afghan Citadel Software Company (ASCS) in 2010 along with two Herat University classmates and an investment of $20,000.[1] ASCS develops software according to specific requirements that are defined by clients. It also creates proprietary stand-alone or integrated applications for computers and mobile phones, based on market needs and identified opportunities. Past projects include helping a Herat hospital to shift from paper to digital records[1] as well as helping to bring reliable internet to Herat University as part of NATO's Silk Afghanistan project.[4][9]

In 2012, Mahboob and Film Annex Capital Partners formed Citadel of New York, LLC (CNY), a joint venture company. Citadel is a full-service information technology (IT) solutions provider focused on education and serving the emerging markets of Central Asia. Citadel is an Afghan, Italian, and American-owned business with offices in Afghanistan and New York City.[7] Citadel of New York was founded to develop and promote Examer, an Interactive and Educational Social Networking platform with a Micro Scholarship Payment System, which Mahboob helped to develop.[10]

Notability

Mahboob has received recognition for being a female CEO in a country where women largely do not work outside the home. She has received threats for starting and running a business, staffing her company primarily with women, doing business with foreigners, even driving a car.[11] [4] Mahboob explained, "You have to show everybody that men and women are equal. Women can do something if you allow them. Give them opportunity and they can prove themselves".[1]

Mahboob is also known for partnering with Film Annex, an online film distribution platform and Web Television Network, to launch the Afghan Development Project in 2012. The project aims to show the world the new face of Afghanistan by broadcasting current event videos, interviews, and news clips as well as archival material directly from Afghan Youth Development.[12] The partnership began after Film Annex founder and president Francesco Rulli saw Mahboob in a 2011 NATO promotional video and decided to get involved in the restructuring of Afghanistan. Mahboob and Film Annex are working to build internet classrooms in Afghan schools to connect children to the world and dissuade them from joining the Taliban.[1][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Shah, Angela (1 September 2012). "In Afghanistan, Roya Mahboob Connects Girls With Computers". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  2. ^ "Roya Mahboob on Afghanistan Education and Economy". www.filmannex.com. Film Annex. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  3. ^ Bezhan, Frud (12 October 2012). "TEDx Tries To Bring Digital Age To Kabul". Radio Free Europe. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d "Herat businesswoman succeeds amid strong opposition". NATO's Newsroom. 24 October 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Building schools in Afghanistan - Afghan Development Project". Film Annex. Film Annex. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  6. ^ "Connecting to modernity". NATO's Newsroom. 22 July 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  7. ^ a b "Citadel of New York, LLC and Roya Mahboob". Film Annex Capital Partners. Film Annex Capital Partners. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  8. ^ "Roya Mahboob". LinkedIn. LinkedIn. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  9. ^ "Internet access is changing teaching methods in Afghanistan". NATO's News. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  10. ^ "Examer Software by Citadel of New York". Film Annex Capital Partners. Film Annex Capital Partners. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  11. ^ Lemmon, Gayle Tzemach (15 Oct 2012). "In The Heart Of Afghanistan, Entrepreneurs Innovate For Peace". Fast Company. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  12. ^ "Biography". http://www.filmannex.com/. Film Annex. Retrieved 11 September 2012. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)


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