CAC partners Google as business registrations hit 10,000 daily

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has entered into a strategic partnership with Google to strengthen its technology infrastructure and enhance service delivery, as daily business registration requests climb to nearly 10,000 nationwide.

Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, Registrar-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja during the anniversary lecture marking the CAC’s 35th anniversary.

Magaji said the collaboration with Google would support the Commission’s transition to an AI-driven service model, improve portal performance and deepen the ease of doing business in Nigeria, noting that the volume of applications and customer inquiries has grown exponentially in recent years.

“When CAC was established in 1991, we operated from a single office in Abuja with manual, paper-based processes. Today, our services are available anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day, seven days a week

“Business registration volumes have grown exponentially, driven by factors such as tax reforms, demonetization of social media and digital businesses, government policies promoting the formalization of informal enterprises,” he said

According to him, business registration volumes have surged due to tax reforms, the formalisation of informal enterprises, and the rapid growth of digital and social media–based businesses. He added that the Commission now also handles an average of 5,000 customer complaints and inquiries daily through its call centres and email platforms.

“To put this into perspective, CEC now receives close to 10,000 business registration requests daily, compared to only hundreds in the past. In addition, our complaint management system through emails and call centers now handles an average of 5,000 inquiries every single day.

“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 added

Magaji described the deployment of artificial intelligence as a necessity rather than an option, stressing that the scale and complexity of operations can no longer be managed effectively through manual processes alone.

He acknowledged that the transition to the AI-driven portal in 2025 was challenging and resulted in temporary disruptions to service delivery, but thanked stakeholders and customers for their patience, assuring them that the reforms would deliver globally competitive outcomes.

As part of the anniversary activities, the CAC also unveiled a redesigned website featuring new AI-powered tools, including an AI Lawyer to provide instant responses on CAC laws, rules and procedures, and a business name generator that allows users to generate and reserve business names seamlessly.

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Magaji said the Commission has become a global reference point in name reservation and business name registration, with some processes now completed in as little as 10 minutes.

To further support small businesses, he announced the approval of free business name registration for 3,500 small enterprises across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

He said the CAC’s journey over the past 35 years reflects a commitment to innovation, efficiency and national development, adding that the Commission is positioning itself to meet global standards through technology-driven reforms.

Ahmed Munir, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Commerce, have pledged legislative and technical support for the Corporate Affairs Commission’s (CAC) digital and artificial intelligence-driven reforms.

Munir said the commission’s digital transformation had simplified the process of business registration and empowered millions of entrepreneurs to transition from the informal to the formal economy.

According to him, CAC’s reforms have strengthened Nigeria’s structured economy by easing the journey from business ideas to fully registered corporations.

“By embracing the digital frontier, CAC has empowered millions of entrepreneurs to move from the informal sector into the structured economy,” he said.

The lawmaker assured CAC of the House committee’s commitment to providing legislative backing to further enhance digital infrastructure, transparency and innovation.

Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) said CAC’s sustained growth and reforms demonstrated the importance of continuous innovation in public sector organisations.

“We are in the era of artificial intelligence, and the only way to transform institutions Today is to embrace and integrate AI into operations,” he said.

The NITDA boss said CAC’s leadership had prioritised digital transformation from inception, noting that AI would infuse intelligence into the commission’s numerous operational processes.

He said AI deployment would not only make business registration easier but also improve business management and strengthen system security.

According to him, AI would help CAC stay ahead of cyber threats by providing staff with advanced tools to protect its platforms and processes.

Abdullahi assured CAC of NITDA’s full support in deploying ethical and responsible AI solutions across its operations.

“At NITDA, we will ensure that whatever CAC needs to succeed in its digital transformation, including ethical and responsible AI, will be provided,” he said.