The Corporate Affairs Commission did not mark its 35th anniversary in Abuja with nostalgia.
Instead, the focus was firmly on the future and on how artificial intelligence can reshape how Nigerians register, run, and protect their businesses.
Speaking at the anniversary event held at the Ladi Kwali Hall of the Abuja Continental Hotel, the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, Kashifu Inuwa CCIE, pledged NITDA’s full support for CAC’s AI driven transformation.
His message was clear: In a digital economy, relevance depends on the ability to evolve.
“We are in the AI era, and the only way to transform today is to embrace and integrate AI into your operations,” Inuwa said. “This is exactly what the Registrar General is doing.”
Inuwa commended CAC for maintaining steady progress in an environment where many public institutions struggle to sustain reforms.
He noted that the Commission’s decision to prioritise digital transformation early in the current leadership laid the groundwork for its recent gains.
That progress is already visible. According to Inuwa, CAC has reduced company registration timelines from several months to as little as 24 hours.
For entrepreneurs, this shift removes one of the most frustrating barriers to formalising a business. For the economy, it signals a system beginning to work at the pace of modern commerce.
However, the NITDA DG stressed that digitisation alone is no longer enough. Artificial intelligence, he explained, is what allows systems to think, learn, and respond in ways that improve service delivery at scale.
“We will make sure you integrate AI into CAC processes. With AI, it will infuse intelligence in everything you do and make things easy for Nigerians to register companies and manage businesses,” he said.
Beyond speed and convenience, security featured prominently in his remarks. Inuwa explained that AI tools can help CAC detect fraud faster, prevent unauthorised changes to company records, and stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.
“At NITDA, we will make sure you deploy ethical and responsible AI in your operations, with the right guardrails in place,” he added.
He also outlined NITDA’s role in supporting CAC’s transformation through the review of its digital and AI roadmaps, as well as the provision of standards, guidelines, training, and safeguards to ensure that innovation remains secure and people centred.
As CAC enters its next chapter, the anniversary underscored a deeper shift in Nigeria’s business environment. Faster registration, smarter systems, and stronger safeguards are no longer optional.
With NITDA backing CAC’s AI ambitions, the message to entrepreneurs and investors is simple. The future of doing business in Nigeria is being redesigned to work better, move faster, and earn trust.
