By Lucy Ogalue
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has partnered with OPAY Digital Services Ltd. to register an additional 300,000 small businesses, aligning with the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020.
Hussaini Magaji, the Registrar-General of CAC, announced the initiative at a meeting in Abuja organised by both entities to kickstart the registration process on Tuesday.
According to Magaji, it aims to register more than 20 million small businesses by the end of 2024.
In a bid to enforce the law mandating business registration with the CAC for operations in Nigeria, Magaji emphasised its importance and noted the recent collaboration with Moniepoint on February 8, initiating the registration of two million small businesses.
“The purpose of this meeting is to enforce the provision of the law, which mandates that for a business to take place in Nigeria, it must be registered with the CAC. Failure to do so is a crime in Nigeria. In the course of this, we are able to create jobs,” Magaji stated.
Magaji further highlighted the significance of registration in line with President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda, targeting the creation of 50 million jobs for youth and addressing poverty.
He urged individuals, including content creators with online income, to register with the CAC, emphasising the various classes of registration to accommodate different business types.
Dauda Gotring, Managing Director of Opay Digital Services, expressed delight in formalising unregistered businesses into the formal sector.
Gotring clarified that the 300,000 names to be regularised mostly belong to agents and merchants using individual names.
He affirmed Opay’s commitment to collaborating with the CAC and adhering to guidelines to facilitate a smooth registration process, aiming to ease the financial burden on small businesses during registration.
The financial service provider will work closely with the CAC to reduce the cost of registration for these small businesses. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Abdullahi Mohammed/Ese E. Eniola Williams
