Zuby Onwuta, a tech entrepreneur, disability advocate, UN global speaker and mentor has proved that being visually impaired cannot stop anyone from achieving success in life.
After losing his sight, he developed the ‘ThinkAndZoom’ device in a bid to overcome his disability, as well as assist others with similar challenges.
Onwuta, who is from Onitsha, Anambra state, Nigeria, migrated to the U.S. in the mid 90s. He was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Macular Dystrophy in 1998 which left him legally blind. This led to a medical discharge from the U.S. military and also ended his plans of pursuing a career in medicine. After dealing with depression due to the setback, he enrolled at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) to study Computer Engineering.
After Loosing 3 careers, he did not allow the set back deter him from improving himself. He founded Think and Zoom, with a vision of “Creating a world, through technology, where visual impairment no longer steals dreams, or kills careers” and a mission of “Providing affordable and innovative tech solutions to enable the visually impaired succeed at school and work and in turn drive down the 70% unemployment rate in the community”. He is an avid customer advocate who uses his knowledge and experience to provide solutions that address customer pains.
Onwuta started is software career at UIC, where he was a UNIX account manager helping clients from incoming freshmen to veteran medical doctors with computer account and Internet configuration issues. This helped shape his approach toward solving problems.
