The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has officially launched a pilot version of its new Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered business registration portal. The announcement was made by Malam Hussaini Magaji, the Registrar-General of CAC, during the 2025 Stakeholders Forum held in Port Harcourt.
According to Magaji, this new system is a significant step forward in Nigeria’s efforts to improve business registration and ease of doing business. The upgraded portal replaces the old Company Registration Portal (CRP) with advanced features designed to make business registration faster and simpler.
One of the key improvements is the instant approval of business name reservations. The AI system works like creating an email account—it quickly checks name availability, suggests alternatives, and approves names immediately. This is expected to eliminate long waiting times in the registration process.
Additionally, the new portal allows business registration using only the National Identification Number (NIN) of the business owner or director. The CAC aims to complete the entire registration process and issue business certificates within 30 minutes, subject to real-time NIN verification.
This upgrade is part of Nigeria’s broader push to attract investment and encourage entrepreneurship by making business registration more efficient and accessible.
