For months, business owners in Nigeria have voiced their frustrations with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). Many complained about failed payments, stalled applications, and weeks-long approval delays. Behind the scenes, the commission was struggling with a backlog of more than 7,000 pending company registration requests.
On Tuesday, Registrar-General Hussaini Ishaq Magaji announced what could be a turning point. Speaking at a stakeholders’ forum in Kano, he revealed that the CAC will deploy an artificial intelligence agent to tackle the backlog and improve its overall service delivery.
According to Magaji, the AI tool is designed to do far more than accelerate company registration approvals. It will process up to 3,000 emails daily, identify duplicate applications, and route inquiries to the right departments. The goal, he explained, is to create faster response times, smoother communication, and fewer roadblocks for entrepreneurs trying to formalize their businesses.
“Problems have been identified, and solutions are already in motion,” Magaji assured participants at the forum.
The move comes just months after the CAC launched a new AI-powered registration portal in June, which was billed as a complete overhaul of the commission’s old system. The portal promised instant business name approvals, real-time suggestions, and a seamless user experience “as simple as opening a Gmail account.”
But the reality fell short. Users quickly ran into technical glitches, from malfunctioning dropdown menus to failed payment systems and unresponsive document uploads. The frustrations spilled over onto social media, where one commenter on Magaji’s Instagram page lamented: “When will this portal be ok? We keep going from one problem to another, and it’s really affecting our customers.”
Despite these setbacks, demand remained high. By July, the platform was processing more than 11,000 transactions daily. That overwhelming volume ultimately crashed the system, creating the 7,000-application backlog the commission is now racing to clear.
The stakes for the CAC are significant. In an economy already strained by high inflation, foreign exchange shortages, and tough regulations, startups and small businesses cannot afford long delays in company registration. Such setbacks can stall funding opportunities, block partnerships, and slow everyday operations.
This is why the commission’s AI initiative matters. If successful, it could eliminate critical bottlenecks and open the door for thousands of businesses to formally register and operate. Faster registrations would also mean more companies entering the tax net and a stronger climate for investment.
Still, the CAC faces a major test. As Magaji acknowledged, the rollout has not been smooth. While automation may help clear the backlog, the bigger challenge lies in rebuilding public confidence in the commission’s systems.
For now, the CAC is betting on technology to deliver what its staff alone could not: speed, accuracy, and scale. Clearing the 7,000-application backlog will be the first test—and the outcome could redefine how Nigeria’s business registry operates for years to come.
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