CAC processes 10,000 daily registrations after AI rollout

The Corporate Affairs Commission has disclosed that it now processes close to 10,000 business registration requests daily, a dramatic leap from the “few hundreds” recorded in its early years, following the full deployment of artificial intelligence across its service platforms.

The commission, however, admitted that the transition to an AI-driven portal caused disruptions and temporary setbacks in productivity and service delivery in 2025.

The Registrar-General of the commission, Hussaini Magaji, made this known on Monday in Abuja at the opening ceremony of CAC’s 35th anniversary celebration, where he described the milestone as a defining moment in Nigeria’s economic formalisation drive.

The event, themed “Upholding Public Trust through Excellent Service Delivery,” was held to celebrate the commission’s resilience, teamwork, and institutional evolution since its establishment in 1991.

The commission was established by the Companies and Allied Matters Act of 1990 to replace the inefficient Company Registry.

As an autonomous body, it handles the incorporation and regulation of companies, business names, and incorporated trustees. It was modernised by CAMA 2020.

Speaking in his address, Magaji said CAC’s operations have since evolved into a fully digital, end-to-end registry, accessible across Nigeria and globally on a 24-hour, seven-day basis.

“When the Corporate Affairs Commission was established in 1991, our story began humbly, but with a bold mandate. At the time, CAC operated from a single office in Area 11, Garki, Abuja, serving the entire nation.”

He recalled that business owners and associations were then forced to travel from across the country to Abuja to register entities, as processes were entirely manual and records were paper-based.

“Service delivery was limited by geography and time. Yet, that single office laid the foundation for what has become one of Africa’s most dynamic and reform-driven corporate registries. Fast-forward to 2026, and our services are no longer confined to one location,” he said. “This is our evolution: from paper to portal, from queues to clicks, from stress to seamless, from one office to the world.”

He attributed the surge in registration volumes to tax reforms, government policies promoting the formalisation of informal businesses, 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,” Magaji said. “In addition, our complaint management system, through emails and call centres, now handles an average of 5,000 inquiries every single day.”

He argued that such volumes would be impossible to manage manually. “Imagine the number of staff required to manage this volume. Only AI can effectively complement human capacity with the required speed, accuracy, and precision,” he added.

He, however, acknowledged that the year was particularly challenging due to the transition, noting that transformational change often comes with initial difficulties.