Zebo Furqatzoda

Zebo was born and raised in Tajikistan, where her early curiosity about people’s stories and communities began to take shape. At 16, she was selected to join the global United World College movement in Singapore. There, driven by a deep interest in ideas worth spreading, she organized a TEDx conference at her school—an early reflection of her passion for sparking meaningful dialogue.

Inspired by the power of self-expression, Zebo co-founded Writerama, a mental health initiative that uses creative writing as a tool for connection and growth. Under her leadership, Writerama expanded to seven countries.

After finishing high school, Zebo was selected to New York University Abu Dhabi, where she immersed herself in study programs across China, the United States, India, and Senegal. Education had been a major unlock in her life—and she set out to expand that access to more people. Alongside a team, she helped build a student-to-student marketplace where high schoolers could book calls with college students from their dream schools.

Her curiosity then turned inward—to the mind itself. She began exploring cognitive science, and went on to build a brain-computer interface using neurofeedback to improve focus.