The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has revealed that it now processes close to 10,000 business registration requests every day, a sharp rise 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 led to disruptions and temporary declines in productivity and service delivery during 2025.

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

The event, themed “Upholding Public Trust through Excellent Service Delivery,” celebrated the commission’s resilience, teamwork, and institutional growth since its establishment in 1991.

The CAC was created under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) of 1990 to replace the inefficient Company Registry. As an autonomous body, it is responsible for the incorporation and regulation of companies, business names, and incorporated trustees. Its operations were further strengthened under CAMA 2020.

In his address, Magaji said the commission has evolved into a fully digital, end-to-end registry that operates круглly and is accessible both within Nigeria and globally.

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

He recalled that business owners and associations were required 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.”

Magaji 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,” he said. “In addition, our complaint management system, through emails and call centres, handles an average of 5,000 inquiries every single day.”

According to him, managing such volumes manually would be impossible. “Only AI can effectively complement human capacity with the required speed, accuracy, and precision,” he added.

Magaji admitted that 2025 was particularly challenging due to the transition to AI-driven systems.

“The transition came with disruptions and temporary setbacks in productivity and service delivery in some areas. Transformational change is never easy. Nevertheless, we appreciate our stakeholders and customers for their patience and understanding,” he said.

He described the adoption of artificial intelligence 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.

“Let me state clearly: the deployment of AI at CAC is not optional; it is necessary,” he stressed.

To deepen its digital transformation, Magaji announced the signing of a Letter of Collaboration between the commission and Google, describing it as a strategic partnership aimed at strengthening service delivery and enhancing portal performance.

He also unveiled a redesigned CAC website, www.cac.gov.ng, featuring new AI-powered tools such as an AI Lawyer, which provides instant guidance on CAC laws and procedures, and an AI Name Generator that enables users to generate and reserve scalable business names.

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 the six best corporate law students from each campus of the Nigerian Law School in 2026, the donation of 120 mattresses to an internally displaced persons 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 pioneer and retiring staff, were also announced.

Delivering a goodwill message, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Commerce, Ahmed Munir, commended the commission’s digital reforms, noting that they have simplified business registration and empowered millions of entrepreneurs to transition from the informal to the formal economy.

He urged stakeholders to support reforms that eliminate regulatory barriers and strengthen Nigeria’s structured economy.

Also speaking, the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, Kashifu Abdullahi, pledged technical support for CAC’s AI reforms, stressing that integrating artificial intelligence into institutional operations is essential for modern governance.

Established in 1991, the Corporate Affairs Commission remains central to the Federal Government’s efforts to improve Nigeria’s ease of doing business, expand the tax base, and formalise micro, small, and medium-scale enterprises.