Business registration with the CAC now possible round the clock

The Corporate Affairs Commission has commenced a 24-hour start-to-finish business registration process for intending business owners in this country. This will make it possible start the process – having the required documents and fees – and get registered on that same day. This is starting off in Lagos, as the Minister for Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, announced.

He said, “The Lagos offices in Yaba and Alausa can now accept incorporation documents and process the certificates from start to finish within 24 hours. The same thing goes for the head office. This is encouraging in line with global best practices and useful for investors, who will want to commence business urgently.”

“The target is to ensure that companies are registered within two hours and to institute a vibrant and transparent companies’ registry, where services will be user-friendly. However, to show that we mean business and that we care about our customers, I direct that a complaints register be opened for anyone who is not able to get his company registered within 24 hours.”

He continued, “The process of incorporation and other services were manual, registration numbers were manually picked and certificates of incorporation were manually typed. It, therefore, took months to register a company. But the management of the commission, under the supervision of my ministry, has embarked on programs/projects that have transformed the commission into a modern company registry. Some of these include the relocation of the commission’s head office, review of its incorporation processes, computerization of its operations and improvement of its human resources.”

“Studies have found that the creation of new businesses is a significant indicator of the level of economic growth and development of a country; in addition to the job creation and wealth generation that come with it. We have also strengthened the one-stop investment center in the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission to pave the way for efficient coordination of investment facilitation between all relevant government agencies and achieve 48-hour response target for all enquiries. We are already seeing the positive impact.”