By Sandra Nwaokolo
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has unveiled a pilot Artificial Intelligence-powered registration portal designed to overhaul the existing Company Registration Portal and accelerate business registration processes in Nigeria.
Registrar-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, announced the innovation during the 2025 Stakeholders鈥 Forum, describing it as a 鈥済ame-changer鈥 that will dramatically reduce registration timelines and improve the ease of doing business across the country.
According to a statement issued by the CAC on Tuesday, the new platform enables instant name reservation approvals and mirrors the simplicity of creating an email account.
鈥淚t is intelligently designed to suggest available alternatives and grant real-time approvals, removing the traditional bottlenecks,鈥 Magaji said.
A key feature of the system is its ability to register businesses using only the National Identification Number (NIN) of a director or proprietor. Once NIN verification is confirmed in real-time, a certificate of incorporation will be generated and sent to the applicant鈥檚 email鈥攚ithin 30 minutes.
Magaji stated, 鈥淭he target time for business registration is under 30 minutes to generate a certificate and deliver to the customer鈥檚 email, subject to real-time NIN verification.鈥
He acknowledged that some delays may occur due to dependencies on the National Identity Management Commission but added that the platform is equipped with an AI-powered photo ID matching feature to help bypass such issues when necessary.
To bolster data security, the Commission is also introducing two-factor authentication with OTP verification, ensuring that no changes can be made to a company鈥檚 records without the consent of the registered directors.
Additionally, Magaji revealed plans to launch a CAC mobile app by the fourth quarter of 2025, allowing users to monitor and manage their transactions in real time.
As part of wider reforms, the Commission is reviewing over 100 partnership requests from local and global super agents鈥攊ncluding the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS)鈥攁imed at expanding access and improving service delivery.
Magaji also disclosed that a review of CAC service fees will take effect from August 1, 2025, to sustain service quality and fund the Commission鈥檚 ongoing digital transformation.
The forum featured goodwill messages from Cordelia U. Eke, Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Port Harcourt Branch; Sir Sebastian Essien, Chairman of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators; and Elder Dogala Sakpege, Chairman of the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises.
Other notable attendees included Mechi Brown, Director of Industry at the Rivers State Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and Miema Akpa, who represented the Chairman of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Port Harcourt Branch.
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