Nigerian small business owners are reporting delays and technical problems as they try to access the Federal Government’s free business registration programme.
The scheme allows 250,000 micro, small and medium enterprises to register business names with the Corporate Affairs Commission at no cost. The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and CAC launched the programme in September 2025.
However, several applicants now say pending applications, failed identity checks and certificate access problems have slowed the process. These complaints come as CAC insists the programme remains free and warns business owners against people demanding money to process applications.
The problems matter because registration can give informal businesses a legal identity. CAC says registered businesses can open corporate bank accounts, sign contracts and access some government and financial services.
Applicants Report Delays and Failed NIN Checks
Several applicants have struggled to move between the SMEDAN and CAC platforms. Some applicants said SMEDAN had approved their applications, but their registration remained pending on the CAC platform weeks later. Others reported problems downloading their SMEDAN certificates.
One applicant said his business name had waited for approval for almost two months. Another reported an “unable to verify NIN” error despite providing what he said were correct details.Not everyone has faced delays, though. One applicant told Independent that he completed the process within 48 hours, which suggests the problems don’t affect every application.
Still, CAC has faced registration backlogs before. Registrar-General Hussaini Ishaq Magaji said in 2025 that the commission had a backlog of about 7,000 applications after it moved to an AI-powered registration portal. A separate portal outage also disrupted services in May.
CAC’s current online guidance says its new system can process business-name registrations through AI. Applicants can also check whether CAC has approved, queried or left an application pending through the portal. The commission advises applicants with pending applications to wait and refresh their dashboards. Those who receive queries can view the problem, make changes and resubmit their applications.
CAC Says Registration Remains Free
CAC issued another public notice on August 15 reminding Nigerians that eligible businesses shouldn’t pay for registration under the scheme.
The commission said MSMEs already listed in the SMEDAN database but without CAC registration automatically qualify for the programme. It directed eligible business owners to apply through the official SMEDAN portal.CAC also warned against people who demand money to fast-track applications, stressing that it will not request payment from eligible applicants under the programme.
SMEDAN originally said normal business-name registration cost about ₦11,000 when it announced the partnership in September 2025. Under the agreement, the government now covers that registration cost for 250,000 businesses.
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The programme targets businesses that still operate outside the formal company-registration system. For small businesses, formal registration can matter a great deal when applying for loans, grants, contracts or programmes that require a CAC number.
That said, registration alone doesn’t guarantee access to finance. Banks and other lenders can still assess revenue, repayment ability and other credit requirements.
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The current problems therefore create more than an administrative inconvenience. A business owner who cannot complete registration may also struggle to meet documentation requirements for other formal opportunities.
For now, CAC has not announced any plan to suspend the programme over these complaints. It continues to direct eligible businesses to register through SMEDAN and avoid anyone demanding payment.The bigger issue is whether CAC and SMEDAN can clear pending applications fast enough to deliver the 250,000 registrations promised under the programme.