The SADC BC derives its mandate from Article 5 (2b) of the SADC Treaty which outlines how SADC must engage with the private sector and non-state actors in SADC
Against this background, in August 2017, the SADC Council of Ministers issued a directive to the SADC Member States to develop a private sector engagement mechanism to better involve the private sector in the implementation of the SADC Regional Integration Agenda and the Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap 2015-2063. The SADC Business Council held its founding meeting in November 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa and was officially launched on 5 August 2019 by the Chairman of SADC, his Excellency, John Pombe Joseph Magufuli, President of the United Republic of Tanzania (URT) during the 4th Annual SADC Industrialisation Week held Tanzania from 5-9 August 2019.