The history of the Nation is closely tied to the origin of the College of Business Education. The newly independent state needed trained personnel for both Industrial and Commercial activities shortly after independence on 9th December 1961. There were few nationals who had commercial knowledge and education at that time. A national business training institute was established in response to the need to train nationals in the commercial sector.
His Excellency J.K. Nyerere was the first President of Tanzania. The College was officially inaugurated in Dar es Salaam, January 1965. Officially, the College was named "College of Business Education".
The College has expanded over the years and in October 1983, a second campus in Dodoma was opened. This campus was also opened by the former President Mwalimu J.K. Nyerere. In December 2007, another campus opened in Mwanza. The College recently opened a second campus in Mbeya in 2013, offering Basic Certificate and Ordinary Diploma courses.
From one (1) in 1965, to ten (10 in 2018), the number of these programmes has increased. These programmes are available at both the Postgraduate and Undergraduate levels on all campuses. The College currently has 6740 students on all campuses.