The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) unveiled an AI-driven business registration portal in early July 2025. Registrar-General Hussaini Ishaq Magaji introduced the upgraded system at the Port Harcourt Stakeholder Forum, highlighting rapid name approvals, real-time NIN verification and certificate delivery within 30 minutes via email.
This new portal overhauls the previous Company Registration Portal (CRP). It uses AI to suggest business names and falls back on photo-ID recognition if NIMC systems flag an issue.
Why SMEs Stand To Benefit
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) pushed for formalization in Nigeria have long suffered bureaucratic delays. CAC’s portal enables instant validation of business names which is similar to setting up an email account, registration using just the director’s NIN, eliminating physical document submissions, a 30-minutes turnaround for certificate issuance, subject to NIN validation.
Nigeria hosts 40 million micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), yet fewer than 10% register formally. The portal could significantly help more SMEs join the formal conomy.
Early Adoption And Technical Hiccups
Within weeks, CAC’s portal attracted an impressive 11,000 transactions per day, peaking at 8,000 name reservations in a single day. However, lawyers and business registrars raised concerns. They report log-ins failures, inability to carry out post-incorporation filings and name search rejections. One lawyer warned the glitches could deter investors while another blamed the timing.
CAC acknowledged “teething challenges” but stressed the system handles 11,000 daily requests and has deployed OTP verification, secure payment channels and backup AI sytems to ensure resilience.
CAC Public Affairs Director, Dominic Inyang described the platform as operational and improving. The Commission ties fees adjustments to underlying tech investments that support the AI upgrade.
The Experts Perspective
Experts applaud the portal’s potential to fast-track formalization and reduce administrative delays. But they caustion that technical reliability matters more than the system speed. Infrastructure readiness, specifically interoperability with NIMC and payment gateways must match user expectations.
Legal and investor confidence depends on consistent availability. Temporary downtime even if it is brief, can disrupt name reservation, filings or payments discouraging compliance.
A Promising Step With Growing Pains
CAC’s AI-Powered portal promises a leap forward in ease of doing business in Nigeria. SMEs can look forward to faster mobilization, wider fintech integration (through OPay, Moniepoint, Palmpay) and digital convinience.
But tech transitions often falter in execution. CAC must stabilize systems and ensure smooth, reliable service before instiling ong-term trust. If it fixes the glitches fast, the new portal could transform Nigeria’s business landscape. If not, it risks undermining investor and entrepreneur confidence.
