The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has restated its commitment to continued support for Medium and Small Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.
The Registrar-General/CEO of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, SAN, stated this when he received the Managing Director of the Abuja Enterprise Agency (AEA), Dr Chudi Ugwuada-Ezerigwe, in his office on Thursday.
He noted that, the two agencies have enjoyed a long-standing relationship which he said must be maintained and sustained for the growth of the small and medium enterprises sector of the economy.
Magaji added that in view of its commitment to the growth of the MSMES sector, CAC stationed a dedicated officer resident at the AEA premises.
According to him, to further demonstrate the support for the growth of the sector, registration of enterprises on the CAC Portal is now artificial intelligence driven to ensure registration and issuance of certificates within ten minutes.
The Registrar noted that as an incentive, entrepreneurs can do it on their own without going through agents, and that the CAC-reviewed service fees, when it becomes effective on 1st September, 2025, will not be applicable to the registration of small businesses.
He therefore challenged the AEA to further explore partnerships with institutions of higher learning to ensure the registration of students who would graduate as entrepreneurs with ready-made businesses registered with the CAC.
Speaking earlier, the Managing Director (MD) of the AEA, Dr Chudi Ugwuada-Ezerigwe, applauded the commission’s support to the AEA, which he said had earned it several awards, including a prestigious one recently awarded during the National MSMES Awards ceremony.
He recalled the series of interventions to MSMEs by CAC since Covid-19 era, which recorded over 6,000 beneficiaries.
Ezerigwe, added that in collaboration with CAC, AEA had recently completed the registration of 1,000 enterprises successfully and will soon flag off the second phase with another 1,000 target beneficiaries.
He further stated that the AEA has incubation centres for nurturing and development of fashion designers, an innovation hub, and an auto mechanics training centre, as well as running a very profitable youth Corpers programme, among others.
The MD of the AEA, in the company of the CAC Desk Officer, Habu Bala, presented the award won by the AEA to the Registrar-General, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji (SAN) as appreciation of CAC’s support.