Founded by The European House - Ambrosetti in 2014 on the basis of the Italy-South Africa Bilateral Summit, the event aims to share ideas, build new and solid partnerships and learn about the enormous political and economic opportunities offered by the current framework of European-African relations, in particular in the SADC, while also turning into actionable proposals the EU's growing commitment and attention to Sub-Saharan Africa.

For 10 years, the event was known as the Southern Africa Europe CEO Dialogue, and on the occasion of its 10th anniversary, in 2024, it was named TEHA CEO Dialogue on Southern Africa.