By Matthew Denis, Abuja
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in partnership with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN ) have launched a nationwide drive to provide free business registration for 250,000 nano, micro, and small enterprises.
The initiative was announced in Abuja during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two agencies.
A statement issued by both agencies on Friday noted that the campaign forms part of activities marking the second year in office of CAC Registrar-General Hussaini Magaji and SMEDAN Director-General Charles Odii, who were both appointed in October 2023.
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.