The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has disclosed that it now processes nearly 10,000 business registration requests daily, a significant leap from the “few hundreds” recorded in its early years, following the full deployment of artificial intelligence across its service platforms.
The commission, however, acknowledged that the transition to an AI-driven portal came with temporary disruptions and productivity setbacks during 2025.
The Registrar-General of the CAC, Hussaini Magaji, made this known on Monday in Abuja at the opening ceremony of the commission’s 35th anniversary celebration, describing the milestone as a defining moment in Nigeria’s drive to formalise its economy.
The event, themed “Upholding Public Trust through Excellent Service Delivery,” highlighted the commission’s resilience, institutional growth and reform journey since its establishment in 1991.
Originally created under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) of 1990 to replace the defunct Company Registry, the CAC operates as an autonomous body responsible for the incorporation and regulation of companies, business names and incorporated trustees. Its operations were further strengthened by the CAMA 2020 reforms.
In his address, Magaji said the commission had evolved into a fully digital, end-to-end registry, accessible globally on a 24-hour, seven-day basis.
“When the CAC was established in 1991, we operated from a single office in Area 11, Garki, Abuja, serving the entire nation,” he recalled.
“At the time, business owners travelled long distances to Abuja to register entities. Processes were manual, records were paper-based, and service delivery was constrained by geography and time,” he said.
According to him, the transformation from manual to digital operations marked a major leap in service delivery.
“Fast-forward to 2026, and our services are no longer confined to one location. This is our evolution: from paper to portal, from queues to clicks, from stress to seamless, from one office to the world,” Magaji stated.
He attributed the surge in registrations to tax reforms, government policies encouraging business formalisation, and the rapid growth of digital and social media-driven enterprises.
“To put this into perspective, CAC now receives close to 10,000 business registration requests daily, compared to only hundreds in the past,” he said.
He added that the commission’s complaint management system now handles an average of 5,000 inquiries daily through emails and call centres.
Magaji stressed that managing such volumes would be impossible without technology.
“Imagine the number of staff required to manage this volume manually. Only AI can effectively complement human capacity with the required speed, accuracy and precision,” he said.
Despite the gains, the registrar-general acknowledged challenges during the transition period.
“2025 was particularly challenging. The move to an AI-driven portal came with disruptions and temporary setbacks in productivity and service delivery. Transformational change is never easy,” he said.
He thanked stakeholders and customers for their patience, assuring them that the reforms would ultimately deliver world-class service.
“Today is not merely a celebration of time; it is a celebration of purpose, resilience, transformation and national impact,” Magaji said.
He described the commission’s AI adoption as inevitable, noting that CAC had become a global reference point in name reservation and business name registration, with turnaround times as short as 10 minutes.
To deepen digital transformation, Magaji announced the signing of a Letter of Collaboration between CAC and Google, describing it as a strategic partnership aimed at enhancing system performance and service delivery.
He also unveiled a redesigned CAC website, www.cac.gov.ng�, featuring AI-powered tools such as an AI Lawyer, which provides instant guidance on CAC laws and procedures, and an AI Name Generator, enabling users to generate and reserve scalable business names seamlessly.
As part of its anniversary initiatives, the commission approved free business name registration for 3,500 small businesses across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Other initiatives include scholarships for six outstanding corporate law students from each campus of the Nigerian Law School in 2026, donation of 120 mattresses to an IDP camp, support for orphanages, and a 25 per cent commemorative staff bonus. Special car and housing loan schemes, as well as board-recommended promotions for pioneers and retiring staff, were also announced.
Delivering a goodwill message, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Commerce, Ahmed Munir, said CAC’s digital reforms had simplified business registration and empowered millions of entrepreneurs to move from the informal to the formal economy.
“Every certificate issued is more than just paper. It represents opportunity, structure and economic growth,” Munir said, pledging continued legislative support for CAC’s digital infrastructure.
Also speaking, the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Abdullahi, assured the commission of technical support for its AI reforms, stressing the need for ethical and responsible AI deployment.
Established in 1991, the CAC remains central to the Federal Government’s efforts to improve Nigeria’s ease-of-doing-business ranking, expand the tax base and formalise micro, small and medium-scale enterprises.