In a bold yet bumpy push toward digital transformation, Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has launched a new Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered registration portal — one that promises to make company registration “faster, smarter, and stress-free.” That is, if users can actually log in.

Dubbed the Intelligent Company Registration Portal (ICRP), the system is designed to overhaul the Commission’s aging Company Registration Portal (CRP). But the rollout — announced with characteristic optimism by the Commission — has instead been met with frustration, sarcasm, and the digital equivalent of protest signs.

“Why is the new portal bouncing already accredited professionals?” one user asked, echoing a flood of complaints from company secretaries, lawyers, and entrepreneurs on social media platforms. “The user guide does not have a solution for this. It’s a 2021 user guide. It’s outdated,” another commented. The backlash was so immediate that the Commission quietly turned off the comment section on its website — an action that didn’t go unnoticed by irate users. “What are you afraid of?” asked one disgruntled registrant.

A Launch Base Africa check described the rollout as a failed migration, noting that the system was effectively rejecting previous databases and ignoring the professional credentials of long-standing users.

Still, the Commission remains upbeat. In a statement issued Tuesday, Registrar-General Hussaini Ishaq Magaji defended the system as a “game-changer,” boasting of real-time name reservations, automated document generation, and 30-minute incorporation timelines. “It’s as simple as opening an email account,” Magaji said at the 2025 Stakeholders’ Forum.

Key features of the new portal include:

• Real-time approval of business names via AI-suggested alternatives.
• Instant certificate generation following successful National Identification Number (NIN) verification.
• AI-powered ID photo matching to resolve verification delays linked to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
• Upcoming mobile app, expected by Q4 2025, to allow users to track and manage their registration status on the go.
• Two-factor authentication to prevent unauthorized changes to company records.

Magaji also revealed plans to revise the Commission’s service fees from August 1, a move likely to test users’ already-frayed patience.

The Commission says it’s not just overhauling tech, but also expanding partnerships. It is reviewing over 100 requests from local and international “super agents” — including the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) — to integrate services and improve reach.

But for now, many users remain locked out of a system supposedly designed to welcome them in. For professionals who have long navigated the labyrinth of Nigerian business registration, the new AI portal represents something familiar: bureaucracy, just with better branding.

As Nigeria aims to climb the ranks of global ease-of-doing-business indices, its latest experiment with automation highlights a timeless truth: even the smartest AI still needs a little common sense in its deployment.

And maybe — just maybe — an up-to-date user guide.