Jitubhai Kantilal Shah was born on 29th November 1957 in Sami a town in Gujarat where his father owned a small Pan Shop (beetle leaves). His father’s uncertain income could barely make ends meet and always kept decided to change the pages of his destiny and left home at the age of 16 and reached to Kolhapur with Rs. 45 which according to him was sufficient for him to begin a new life. He strived to gain study till Grade 11 at Jain Boarding and thereafter based upon his mastered skills and passion for accountancy he managed to get a job at an establishment called Shah Nathalal Hathibhai where his work always remained skillful.
After a few years, in 1982 Jitubhai tried his fate in venturing his own business by trading for sugar. To capitalize this venture, his employer and a few friends supported him. With great dedication, he spent the initial decade of his business years in gaining knowledge about the trade, the market, the business tactics etc. In 1992 he established JK Business Group which today has its reach wide across the globe with branches in Pune, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Surat and Dubai. His sons began their journeys in the business by getting deeply engrossed in the competitive business of sugar trading. Much of their passion for business, focus towards goals, firmness have come from their father, their role model. In an attempt to replicate the success story of their father, Uppal and Hemant managed to industrialize the empire of JK Group through diversifying distinct verticals. Starting from an analysis and then a series of strategic planning, including feasibility analysis, market research, investment/return ratio forecasting, etc. they produced an ambitious plan to conquer the market and started implementing power-packed actions. Today this extensive experience in building profitable businesses germinating with a small venture trading in sugars which can now be called a “House where uplifting lives through meaningful ventures happen.” Hemant is the mainstay of brokering, trading, financial part in JK Group. Hemant is known for his business acumen and spontaneity.
Whereas, Uppal being a techno-savvy, has an extensive experience building profitable companies from a combination of business ideas and IT. Over the years Jitubhai and his sons encompassed massive growth spreading the wings of his businesses in the fields of Sugar Trading and Supply, Building Contracting, Digital marketing and Marketing Agency, Technology Softwares, Voice and Audio Solutions, Adventure, Sports, Fitness Trainings and Events, Stocks, Commodity and Broking along with Wealth Planning and Management.
Today Jitubhai is also the Joint Secretary of All India Sugar Trade Association. This Association works to mediate between the Government and the stakeholders involved in businesses in Sugar Trading. To be the bridge and a single unified voice that brings all the stakeholders of the sugar industry together with a combination of the best of technology, Jitubhai runs ChiniMandi – India’s Largest Sugar News and Informative Portal through the market holding digital presence in over 180 countries.
The news and informative portal is currently serving News & Information to its users in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati & English. Jitubhai being a sports lover arranges football, cricket matches and various tournaments in the city throughout the year where many of sport personnel from around the country participate every year. Jitubhai Shah’s JK Group and IT company, JK Instinct Media and Agrahyah Technologies have popularized Kolhapur throughout the world by working for skill-building in vernacular languages for Google Assistant and Amazon for their Alexa features. The company was also invited by Kazakhstan to solve their English language problem in the country and there the company bagged the first prize.
In 2018 the company has bagged the coveted ‘Worldwide Artificial Intelligence Award’ by Amazon. Shah’s ‘Aawaz.com’ is the first podcast platform in the country where you can hear everything through voice intelligence system except songs. Today due to such magnanimous work in the field of Business by Jitubhai and his sons Uppal and Hemant have brought the Group many awards like ‘Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar’, ‘Most Successful Business Award’, Fastest Growing Indian Company Excellence Award in Thailand, Top Influence Amazon Agency Award in USA, Man of the Sugar Conclave Award, Web Summit Pitch Award in Portugal, Outstanding Achievers Award, Paul Harris Fellow (Rotary International) and many more. It is said that a smart brain is not only supported with a kind heart but it’s the rough days in the past that make you generous. Jitubhai has proved this by extending his generosity for social causes under a charitable trust which he runs. He intends to uplift the society and poor by giving instead of making a living by just earning. Jitubhai has known what it is to live a life of poverty and to do something for the financially sick people of the society he established the JK Charitable Trust. He knows that he couldn’t study further due to lack of funds and this should not be the case of others and hence he has adopted several families from Gujarat under this trust to finance their needs of Education and other basic needs. In Gujarat, he has also purchased a dozen flats in which families who belong from and economically backward class live there. Jitubhai also provides free meals to the needy through his trust and many of the needy in the city are benefited by this scheme. The trust is active in the development of schools in the rural areas, educational programs, etc.
Shah encourages the youth to dream big, engross themselves to hard work, dedication and perseverance to grow into the best version of them in life. Strongly believing in being passionate about goals and striking the rod to opportunities is a strong trait of him. He has always trusted his instincts and been flexible along with persistence more than any spreadsheet. Jitubhai has also been a strong supporter of teamwork knowing that no individual can be a master at everything and it’s a team that can achieve tall heights. Jitubhai is a staunch believer of situations not being bad that defines you, it is the action you take to change the situation that defines you and it is only hard work and perseverance that moulds the diamond out of yourself.
