CAC Registers Over 73, 000 Companies Within Three Months Under Business Incentive Strategy

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) says it registered not less than 73,000 companies within three months under its cost-friendly Business Incentive Strategy (BIS) rolled out in October last year.

Acting Registrar General of the Commission, Lady Azuka Azinge, who made this known  in Abuja on Wednesday during a courtesy visit by Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CICAN), said the Commission would record  a higher number of registration in the first quarter of 2019.

She said, “From 1st October to 31st December 2018 we registered 73,000 companies, if you look at the corresponding year, about 30,000 companies were registered in 2017, so you can see the BIS was successful.

“Based on popular demand, we have to go back to the Minister  for extension which started from January 1 to March 31 2019, we are almost at the tail end of the second part and so far we are exceeding what we did last year. We expect to see much higher number which is what we are seeing already in our record.”

Azinge, who was conferred with an award by CICAN as best Chief Executive Officer of Government Agency, 2018, for her ingenious initiatives to aid ease of doing business in the country, called on private sector operators to take advantage of the BIS window which ends on 31 March 2019 to register their business name at reduced fee of N5, 000.

The CAC boss, who expressed surprise over the award, commended CICAN for acknowledging the unsung achievements recorded by the Commission, adding that there was no going back on the various initiatives put in place to ensure ease of doing business in the country.

“The Commission has undertaken many initiatives. We are fully decentralised in our operations, whereby you now have online registration of business names, limited liability companies as well as the incorporated trustees, which can be register online 24 hours within which you get your certificate. Payments are also done online, there is also integration with the FIRS on issue of the stamp duty,” she said.

Earlier, the Chairman of CICAN, Mr Fred Idehai, said the  award to the Acting Registrar General was to encourage hardwork and urge her not to rest on her oars.

“The feat you achieved through BIS that attracted many MSMEs to be registered will grow the economy and contribute massively to the increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country,”  the CICAN chairman said.