The Centre for Public-Private Cooperation (CPPC) was formally registered in 1995 as an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization. 
Its birth was prompted by the outcome of a program titled "Governance and Economic Reform in Nigeria", which was funded through a grant from the United States Information Agency of Washington D.C., USA.
The findings of the project noted that bad governance characterized by, among others, the military rule's total alienation of the civil society from the public policy process, as well as the lack of integration of public and private sector economic plans and programs were major causes of the dismal performance of Nigeria's economic reform program.