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The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) have unveiled a landmark initiative to offer free business registration to 250,000 nano, micro, and small enterprises across the country.

The scheme was launched on Friday in Abuja during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two agencies. It also marked the second year in office of CAC Registrar-General Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, SAN, and SMEDAN Director-General Dr Charles Odii, both appointed in October 2023.

Speaking on the initiative, CAC Registrar-General Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, SAN, said: “Formalisation has long been a hurdle for many small businesses, with cost, bureaucracy and lack of awareness keeping millions of entrepreneurs in the informal sector. This often denies them access to finance, markets and government support. The new CAC–SMEDAN scheme removes these barriers by covering the cost of registration and linking beneficiaries directly to SMEDAN’s MSME database.

He further explained that registered businesses would be able to access aftercare services such as grants, capacity-building programmes, technical support, and market linkages. “This drive is about breaking down the barriers that keep too many of our small businesses informal. By removing the cost of business name registration for 250,000 businesses, we are helping more entrepreneurs take the first step toward growth, legitimacy, and access to bigger opportunities. It is also an investment in the MSME ecosystem, as the Commission is forgoing approximately ₦3 billion in registration fees to make this possible,” Magaji added.

On his part, SMEDAN Director-General Charles Odii stressed the importance of the programme, saying, “Formalisation is the gateway to support. By ensuring that these businesses are registered and also onboarded into our database, we can provide continuous aftercare, whether that’s access to grants, training, or new markets. The first step for any MSME wishing to benefit is to register on our portal at portal.smedan.gov.ng.”

Odii added that “Every MSME in our database without a CAC registration will be offered this free registration initiative. For those who are not digital natives, SMEDAN State Offices nationwide will provide support, and at physical events such as our business clinics, the agency will also be available to onboard entrepreneurs.

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