In 1952, Revd. Guthrie Michael Scott and several of his friends decided that there was a need for an organisation to advise and support Africans who wished to oppose, by constitutional means, political decisions affecting their lives and futures imposed by alien governments. An initial scheme comprised one body to raise and disburse funds and another to educate public opinion and give guidance, etc., to Africans; however, the ultimate outcome was a single institution known as the Africa Bureau, directed by an Executive Committee and Honorary Director (Michael Scott), with a financial sub-committee and paid secretary. Two separate trust funds were established, one to handle money for the St Faith's Mission, Rhodesia (later called the African Development Trust), the other mainly to provide educational bursaries for Africans (the Protectorates Trust). Neither was administered by the Bureau, but members of its Executive Committee became trustees.

For a while, the Bureau's activities were dominated by the proposed federation of the Rhodesias (Zimbabwe and Zambia) and Nyasaland (Malawi). Gradually, however, problems in other parts of Africa attracted its interest. It assisted Tshekedi Khama in his appeal against exile from Bechuanaland (Botswana); from this single opening it was led into investigating landholding, livestock difficulties, and mineral concession problems in all three High Commission Territories (Lesotho, Botswana, and Eswatini) and the threat of the territories' transfer to the Union of South Africa. In South Africa, the Bureau gave monetary support to African schools and organised a campaign to boycott sports and cultural events where racial discrimination was practised. It amassed a large volume of official information on the proceedings of the United Nations and the International Court of Justice (at the Hague) relating to South-West Africa (Namibia). Regarding problems in East Africa, its chief link was Colin Legum, a member of its Executive Committee, whose observations included the Mau Mau emergency, the constitutional controversy in Buganda, and the granting of independence to the four British territories.

The Bureau's mode of operation changed as new demands were made upon it. Originally, it had aimed at advising Africans on their problems, obtaining the advice of experts, representing them on international bodies, and encouraging them to exert pressure on governments. However, the changes wrought by the achievement of independence by many African states led to the emergence of a section of the Bureau as a research group supported by foreign donations for specific projects or publications. This research included investigations into the efficacy of sanctions against Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and the effect of external investment in South Africa and Namibia. The means by which the Bureau was financed also changed, as it moved from an initial dependence on individual benefactions to a more professional approach to fundraising.

During the 1970s, the Executive Committee came to the decision that the Bureau had outlived its original purpose and that further aid to developing countries should be the responsibility of other, differently conceived organisations. The Bureau was therefore closed in 1978.