Mirwais Azizi

Mirwais Azizi (born 1962) is a Dubai-based Afghan businessman. He is the chairman of Azizi Group of companies, which he founded in 1989 with a presence in realty, banking, investment, and hospitality. He is also the chairman of Azizi Bank, which he established in 2006 in Kabul, Afghanistan, with $7.5 million in equity capital and has since reached up to $80 million.

He was featured in the list of "Arabian Business 100 Inspiring leaders in the Middle East" in March 2018.

He is regarded by many Afghans as Afghanistan's richest man, who handled as much as 70% of the petroleum products sold in Afghanistan, reportedly by Asia Sentinel.

Early life and education
He was born in a family of the Azizi Pashtuns of Laghman, Afghanistan, who are a sub-clan of the larger Kheshgi tribe. He graduated in law from the University of Kabul. He left Afghanistan in 1988.

Career
In 2007, Mirwais Azizi established Azizi Developments. A year before that he founded Azizi Bank, which became one of the largest commercial financial institutions in Afghanistan. He also acquired Bakhtar Bank (now Islamic Bank of Afghanistan) which is one of the fastest growing banks in Afghanistan.

Azizi Developments started selling off-plan properties in Dubai until the global financial crisis struck. The majority of buyers could not continue payments and Azizi instructed that their deposits be handed back.

In 2013, Azizi Developments resumed the construction of projects. Presently, the company has more than 200 projects under various stages of development with a current portfolio in Dubai valued over AED 45 billion. The Azizi Hotak Group, which he started with an initial investment of $80 million, operates in 10 countries.

He has served on the board of trustees for American University of Afghanistan, the first non-profit higher education institution in Afghanistan.

Companies
List of companies/organizations owned by Mirwais Azizi;
 * Azizi Investments
 * Azizi Developments
 * Azizi Bank
 * Bakhtar Bank (now as Islamic Bank of Afghanistan)
 * Azizi Hospitality
 * Azizi Foundation

Personal life
He is married to Parigul, with whom he has 7 children, including Farhad Azizi, Fawad Azizi, and Jawad Azizi.