Khalil Abou Jaoude is a Lebanese entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the Founder and Managing Director of AJA Group SAL, a Lebanese holding company with subsidiaries across Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. Khalil is also the Executive Chairman of Eli Gebran Abou Jaoude Group Holding SAL, a high-end property company based in Lebanon.

Khalil is a long-time supporter of the Primary Immune Deficiency Fund at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) and is a proud board member of The Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development.

Khalil was born in Lebanon and spent his early years in Liberia, after his family were forced to flee during Lebanon’s civil war. He completed his education in Lebanon, Switzerland, and Canada. Khalil credits his global perspective and economic insight to his international upbringing and understanding of what it is like to be a displaced person.

Khalil began his career in business at 19 alongside his father, running family businesses in retail and real estate. After university in Canada, Khalil moved back to Liberia to assist with family business holdings across Africa.

Khalil’s father had established the Abi Jaoude and Azar (AJA) Trading Company in Liberia several decades prior. AJA group became and continues to be deeply connected to the Liberian economy and society. As well as AJA being involved with numerous charitable activities in Liberia, it was one of the only international companies that remained in Liberia during the country’s civil war in the early 1990’s.

In 2014, Khalil and his business partners restructured the AJA Group into one Lebanese holding company to enhance its profitability and make it better organized for its present needs. This resulted in the AJA Group SAL, which has expanded its foothold from Africa and the Middle East to multiple subsidiaries in different jurisdictions worldwide.

Khalil holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Lebanese American University of Jbeil (LAU) and a master’s degree in business administration from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He now balances his time between Lebanon and Liberia. He is married to Randa Chikhani and they have two children.