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= Mirwais Azizi =

Mirwais Azizi (born in 1962) is an Afghan billionaire property developer and the founder and chairman of one of the UAE’s leading private real estate development companies, Azizi Developments. Azizi Developments was awarded ‘Developer of the Year’ at the Construction Innovation Awards for two consecutive years in 2016 and 2017.

Azizi Developments also picked up ‘Developer of the Year’ and ‘Best Upcoming Developer of the Year’ for Azizi Riviera at the prestigious Infrastructure & Real Estate Excellence Awards held in Dubai.

Azizi Developments was also the only real estate developer to win the ‘Real Estate Innovator of the Year’ at the Enterprise Agility Awards that acknowledge agility across a number of industries including retail, healthcare, construction, hospitality, and aviation, among others.

Early Life:

Mirwais Azizi was born (1962) in Kabul, Afghanistan where he graduated in law and began working in a law firm. From 1980 to 1988, a war was taking place in Afghanistan so Azizi moved to Uzbekistan with his family in search of a secure life and business opportunities. He made his first million trading in textiles and consumer goods while there and set up offices in more than 20

including Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Poland. In 1994, Azizi set his footprint in the United Arab Emirates by establishing business ties with Al Ofuq a trading company in the Emirate of Sharjah.

Career:

In 2007, Azizi established Azizi Developments, one of the leading private property development companies in Middle East. In 2008, 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 existing projects. Presently, the company has more than 100 projects under various stages of development with a current portfolio in the emirate valued over AED 20billion. Azizi Developments have been instrumental in developing some of the finest properties at Palm Jumeirah, Meydan, Dubai Healthcare City, Al Furjan, Studio City, Sports City and Jebel Ali.

CSR:

In 2002, after fourteen years, Azizi returned to Afghanistan and reviewed the effects of the post-war devastation. The Azizi Foundation was established with the objective to help the underprivileged and those affected by war to lead better lives. The Foundation also sponsors education for Afghan youth. It also helped to create 10,000 jobs for those that were displaced by war and contributed extensively to rebuilding infrastructure in Afghanistan. Azizi was instrumental in establishing the first non-profit educational institution, American University of Afghanistan that has educated thousands of Afghan youths.

Family:

Azizi is married, with seven children (three sons and four daughters), and lives in Dubai. Mirwais Azizi’s son, Farhad Azizi, holds a Master of Business Administration from Suffolk Boston University, Massachusetts, and is the CEO of Azizi Developments. His second son, Fawad Azizi is the Deputy CEO of Azizi Developments and his third son, Jawad Azizi is the CEO of Azizi Investments.