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The Special American Business Internship Training Program was initiated by former Secretary of Commerce Robert A. Mosbacher during a September 1990 Presidential Business Development Mission to Moscow. It followed up on a pledge made by President Bush at the 1990 Malta Summit to support the Soviet Union's transition to a market economy.

Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, the program has been called the Special American Business Internship Training Program and has received funding through the FREEDOM (Freedom for Russia and Emerging Eurasian Democracies and Open Markets) Support Act. SABIT supports the U.S. Government's strategy for assistance to Eurasia by providing U.S.-based, hands-on training and technical assistance to business executives and scientists. As a result of this training, long-term business partnerships between U.S. and Eurasian companies are forged, creating jobs and investments both here and abroad.

SABIT works from its headquarters in Washington, D.C. and its three regional offices in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Russia. SABIT has emerged as a leading technical assistance provider driving public-private partnerships between the U.S. and Eurasian business communities. SABIT is structured to respond rapidly to the changing needs of its U.S. and Eurasian clients. This is reflected in the evolution of the SABIT Program to accommodate U.S. interests and the dynamism of the Eurasian business climate.

SABIT has conducted several outside evaluations of its programs. All have offered favorable assessments of the Program's activities. Through these evaluations and its own monitoring and evaluation process, the Program ensures that its funds are used efficiently. This process allows SABIT to meet the high expectations of all its stakeholders both in the United States and abroad.