CAC Launches AI Reforms To Cut Registration Delays
By TOSI ORE
THE Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has unveiled sweeping digital reforms to eliminate delays in business registration and improve service delivery.
Speaking at the CAC Stakeholders’ Forum in Kano on Monday, Registrar-General Hussaini Ishaq-Magaji, SAN, said the commission inherited an overstretched portal overwhelmed by surging demand, especially after the mandatory registration of Point-of-Sale (PoS) operators and annual returns compliance.
“Our call centre and operational departments receive no fewer than 3,000 emails daily, with fewer than 100 staff attending to them. This model is unsustainable and unfair to both customers and staff. That is why we resolved to change it for good,” he said.
To address the challenge, Ishaq-Magaji announced the launch of an Artificial Intelligence-powered portal capable of processing thousands of requests within seconds. Since its rollout in June, the system has reduced the time for business name registration to under 10 minutes—“a feat unprecedented globally,” he added.
“Anywhere you are, without knowing anyone in CAC or paying a middleman, you can register a business name and get your certificate instantly,” he noted.
While acknowledging persistent delays in limited liability company and incorporated trustee registrations—where 7,000 applications are being handled by just 63 staff—he assured stakeholders that upcoming phases of the reform will close these gaps.
The initiative won praise from the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), with Kano and Ungogo branches describing the reforms as a “remarkable achievement” and urging CAC to sustain the momentum.
