Amit Anil Chandra Shah was born in Mumbai on 22 October 1964. He came from a Gujarati Hindu family of the Baniya caste. His great grandfather was the Nagarseth (Capital city chief) of the small state of Mansa. His father, Anil Chandra Shah, a businessman from Mansa, owned a successful PVC pipe business.
He went to school in Mehsana and moved to Ahmedabad to study biochemistry at CU Shah Science College. He graduated with a Bachelor's of Science (B.Sc.) in Biochemistry and then worked for his father's business. He also worked as a stockbroker and in co-operative banks in Ahmedabad.
Shah was involved with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since childhood; he participated in the neighbourhood shakhas (branches) as a boy. He formally became an RSS swayamsevak (volunteer) during his college days in Ahmedabad. He first met Narendra Modi in 1982 through the Ahmedabad RSS circles. At that time, Modi was an RSS pracharak (propagator), working as in-charge of youth activities in the city.