He’s a business leader, while advocating for the rights of people with facial differences
Age: 39
Alim Somji loves superhero movies, but he admits that these films perpetuate harmful stereotypes of people with facial differences like himself.
“They put a scar on someone to show their life has been terrible. It’s shorthand for a villain, or damage,” he says.
People with facial differences face barriers in work-places, misunderstandings from the general public and lack access to protection.
Somji wants to change that through About Face, the national non-profit that he chairs. Its initiatives include campaigns like My Difference Should Make No Difference, which strives to create social inclusion and provide support and awareness for children born with facial differences.
“Mostly, I want to see people with facial differences known for the thousands of things they can do,” says Somji.
Somji has served on the board of the Edmonton Food Bank in the past, and is chair of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce’s Policy Committee. He’s also president and CEO of Jaffer Group, a company his father, Nizar Jaffer Somji, founded in 2005.
Throughout Somji’s childhood, his dad ran an industrial automation and software company called Matrikon until it was purchased by Honeywell. Once Somji was in university, Nizar wanted to try something different, so he launched Jaffer Group, initially as a local real estate and hospitality investor.
In the summer of 2007, the board of Matrikon needed Nizar to return. Someone had to step up in the interim at Jaffer Group so Somji did. He knew he had a lot to learn, and to add to his learning curve the company took over its own construction in 2009. He embraced the challenge.
The company has since grown into an international multi-industry venture comprising construction, hospitality, tech consulting and real estate development. Meanwhile, Somji’s knowledge and passion have grown alongside the company.
This article appears in the November-December 2026 issue of Edify
