Inspiring journey of Jairus Banda populary known as JB
NEWTON SIBANDA
Lusaka
IT IS 18:00 hours at Luangwa Bridge. The sky is painted in dusky orange as daylight gives way to evening.
Amid the buzz of buses and roadside traders, a man quietly hands out 10kg bags of mealie meal to dozens of families. There is no media coverage, no loud declarations, just a man in plain clothes serving his community.
That man is Jairus Banda, popularly known as JB, a name that rings familiar from Luangwa to Lusaka.
He is the proprietor of the thriving JB brand, which includes a chain of shops and bars spread across Luangwa, Luangwa Bridge, Rufunsa, Chongwe, and Lusaka, as well as a fleet of JB-branded passenger service buses.
On this particular evening, Mr Banda was distributing 140 bags of mealie meal to the families of victims of a tragic road traffic accident that occurred at Luangwa Bridge.
A truck had veered off the road and ploughed into roadside shops, claiming lives and disrupting livelihoods.
“I thought that if I gave each family K100, it wouldn’t make much of a difference. That’s what matters right now,” Mr Banda said.
To ensure fairness and transparency, Mr Banda engaged village headmen to help register beneficiaries.
“If I did it on my own, I could be accused of segregating,” he added with humility.
From the Banks of the Luangwa RiverBorn in 1981 in Manuele Banda’s story is not one of privilege. It is one of spirited resolve, resilience, and an unshakable entrepreneurial spirit. His education was disrupted repeatedly due to family challenges.
He began school in Nyimba, completing Grades one to four before moving in with relatives in Luangwa and then Sinda, struggling all the while with instability and poverty.
Eventually, he settled with his grandparents in Luangwa, but that also marked the end of his formal education.
“Even while I was in school, I was fishing and making baskets.
So when I stopped, it was easy to shift into business full-time,” he said.
At 19, he made his first independent business decision: selling goats to buy a canoe and partnering with former school mates to start a fishing business.
He would transport fish to Sinda and return with maize, which he milled into mealie meal for sale in Luangwa, an area often plagued by chronic food shortages.
This early experience taught Banda the power of supply and demand. With no formal education in economics, he instinctively understood market dynamics and built on this foundation over time.
Failing Forward
Later, seeking better opportunities, Banda tried his luck in Lusaka as a grocery hawker. Lacking experience and capital, the venture quickly failed.
“After three months, I was broke. I had to go back to my mother’s family in Chaisa,” he said.
But failure didn’t deter him. Instead, it taught him.
Soon after, Banda began renting a shop and house in Chaisa.
When he had saved enough, he returned to his roots, fishing and trading, and secured credit from an Indian supplier who saw potential in him. This relationship helped Banda expand into wholesale trade.
Facing stiff competition in retail, Banda moved to Ng’ombe Township, rented a bar, and handed over operations in Chaisa to his brother and cousin.
He also diversified, owning 10 wheelbarrows for hire and later building his own shop in Ng’ombe.
In 2008, Banda made his boldest move yet; he travelled to Hong Kong, returning with three Toyota Hiace minibuses and five Toyota Corolla cars, launching his transport and taxi business.
Returning Home, Giving Back
In 2014, Banda returned to Luangwa, selling some of his vehicles to build a new shop and bar.
“There was too much competition in Lusaka, and I saw more opportunity back home,” he said. His instincts proved right.
He tapped into maize marketing, buying in Chipata and selling to millers in Lusaka, using the profits to expand his bus fleet.
In 2018, despite his success, the memory of his unfinished education lingered. Banda returned to school and passed his Grade 7 exams. However, the demands of running a growing business empire forced him to abandon studies after failing Grade 9. “There was a tug of war between school and business. I fell for the latter,” he said.
Still, he remains committed to education for his children. Now a father of 22, with three wives, Banda ensures all his children are in school.
“I want them to have the education I didn’t,” he said.
His wives also manage shops in Luangwa, Luangwa Bridge, and Rufunsa, forming the backbone of his decentralised retail model.
“Wherever there is a matrimonial home, there is also a shop,” he smiles. “I wouldn’t have managed without the support of my wives. They understand the importance of the business.”
A Legacy of Impact
From selling baskets and fish to owning a regional retail and transport empire, Jairus Banda’s journey is a testament to perseverance, vision, and community spirit.
Despite the odds, he has become not only a successful businessman but also a pillar of hope for many in his hometown.
And on evenings like that one at Luangwa Bridge, when the air is thick with grief and uncertainty, he shows up, not as a tycoon, but as a neighbour with a heart full of empathy and arms full of mealie meal.
