Nigeria continues to recognize that promoting benign ecosystem for businesses and enterprises requires taking seriously the underlying factors such as ease of business registration, simple bureaucratic processes and deployment of state-of-the-art techniques and technology for efficiency and efficacy.
No doubt, business and economic prosperity of nations are premised on vibrant and sustainable policy frameworks and dynamic managerial methodologies. Information Communication Technology (ICT) and analytical tools are also vital for knowing what policy has worked and what has not. Given the primary role of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) as the agency of the government responsible for the Start-Up of Business, the Commission has reformed its major policies and methods of operation with aim of creating an enabling business environment and enhance Nigeria’s ranking in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index.
The CAC, under the leadership of Barrister Bello Mahmud, is aligning its policies and operational strategies with emerging economic realities as evidenced in one of the Commission’s policy reform document titled “Reform Initiatives Towards Creating an Enabling Environment for Ease of Doing Business” in Nigeria.
According to the document in possession of the Economic Times, the policy reforms include, first of all, decentralisation of operation through adoption of fibre optic for the Commission’s Wide Area Network (WAN). With WAN, States Offices of Lagos, Kaduna, Kano and Enugu and Port Harcourt, can now start and finish registration process for Companies, Business Names and Incorporated Trustees without recourse to Head Office.
The second reform is the reduction of business registration red tape with removal of restriction that only accredited vendors-Lawyers, Chartered Accountants and Chartered Secretaries-could register companies. First Directors or Subscribers can now register their companies directly as Private Notaries Public have been enlisted to notarize the documents at a negotiated fee subject to the maximum charge of ₦500 as approved by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment on 5th April, 2017. The Commission has also reduced the filing fees payable for registration of small and medium size companies by 50%, while big companies enjoy 25% reduction.
The third reform is the creation of Public Search Window in the Commission’s website which provides the details of all registered Companies, Business Names, Incorporated Trustees and those undergoing registration. This makes it possible for the public to confirm genuineness of a company. It also guide people who desire to register Companies, Business Names and incorporated trustees on whether the name they proposed to reserve has already been registered.
The fourth reform is the consolidation of the registration form into a new form called CAC 1.1 available in the in the Commission’s website. This reform has down sized the registration fee from N6000 to about N4,000. The new form is also beneficial in that there is no provision for return of allotments, names and addresses of allottees as that information is already captured in the Memorandum and Articles of Association.
The fifth reform is the deployment of ICT-Company Registration Portal (CRP)-for business registration which was introduced in 2014 to replace the Content Pinnacle Software which was found to be limited in user ability. The CRP is user-friendly, enabling 24 hours registration target. It also affords customers on-line and real time access to the services of the Commission from the comfort of their offices or homes using different payment platforms such as inter-switch, e-transacts, master card, verve and visa card.
The sixth methodology reform is the Document Upload Interface which enables prospective entrepreneurs to upload their registration documents online for processing.
The Commission processes the application and issue registration certificate based on the uploaded documents while the originals are submitted upon completion of the registration process before the certificate is released by the Commission. Following up to this, the Commission had phased out manual submission of applications for registration of Companies, Business Names and Incorporated Trustees emanating from customers in Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Enugu & Port Harcourt. Consequently, all such applications have to be submitted on-line through the Companies Registration Portal.
