The Corporate Affairs Committee (CAC) has announced the takeoff of pilots for the new AI (AI) registration portal.
CAC Registrar Malam Hussaini Magaji made the announcement in a statement at the 2025 Stakeholders Forum in Port Harcourt.
Magazi described the initiative as a major milestone in Nigeria’s Business Facilitation Drive.
He said the upgraded portal marks a complete overhaul of the Company Registration Portal (CRP), with advanced features designed to simplify and speed up business registration.
He said the new system will allow instant name reservation approval, e.g., to coincide with the ease of creating an email account.
The Registrar said that platforms powered by AI suggest alternatives to business names and could quickly approve them.
“Another innovation is the ability to register a business using only the National Identification Number (NIN) of the Director or Owner.
“We have an ambitious goal of completing business registration and certificate generation within 30 minutes and are subject to real-time NIN verification,” he said.
Magazine acknowledged the possibility of occasional delays due to external data confirmation from the National Identity Management Committee (NIMC).
He assured Nigerians that emergency solutions using AI-powered photo ID matching were developed to address these challenges.
Speaking about the expansion of CAC’s partnership with private sector officials, the Registrar said the committee is reviewing more than 100 superagent applications, including requests from abroad.
He specifically mentioned the Nigerian Interbank Conciliation System (NIBSS) as one of the strategic collaborators under consideration.
Magaji also suggests upcoming digital features, such as two-factor authentication and OTP verification of all transactions, to prevent unauthorized changes to corporate records.
He further said that the CAC mobile app will launch in the last quarter of 2025, allowing users to run transactions and track progress on the go.
Regarding service reform, Magazine said the committee will conduct a review of certain service charges that came into effect on August 1 to maintain quality service delivery and support ongoing digital transformation.
The event was attended by key stakeholders such as the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Chair Cordelia Eke, Port Harcourt Branch, Sebastian Eschen, the Chartered Secretary Association and the Nigerian Administrator (ICSAN).
There were also Dogara Sakupezi, chairman of the Nigerian Small Business Association (NASME), and Dr. Mechi Brown, head of the Industrial Department of Rivers Department of Commerce.
During the interactive session, CAC’s technical team was there to address customer complaints and provide real-time solutions to registration and compliance challenges. (NAN)
