Nigeria’s CAC promised seamless AI-powered registration but Nigerians say they aren’t seeing it.
When the CAC rolled out its new Intelligent Company Registration Portal (iCRP) on July 1, it promised real-time name reservations, one-hour registrations, and automated TIN generation, all wrapped up in a sleek interface.
The commission now claims that its new AI-powered registration system registered over 11,000 companies in a single day—it used to take a week for each company. Sounds impressive, right? You should hear what the users are saying.
Some users who have tried to register their business say that they’ve been unable to successfully complete the process because payments aren’t reflecting. Some users say they are unable to verify certificates even after payment has been made. Tax identification numbers (TINs) don’t show up. The public registry doesn’t update, and emails, calls, and support tickets go unanswered. One wonders how 11,000 successful registrations were conducted under these conditions.
One of many. A number of Nigeria’s public digital systems often launch with great ambition and mixed results. From National passport registration portals to National identity systems, many start slow, but some eventually find their stride. An example is the Nigerian Immigration Service passport application portal, which has now almost become a seamless service for passport application, even though it also has its moments of disruption. Unlike the other digital systems that come with a contingency plan and clear timeline, this CAC’s new rollout left users in the dark.
One wonders Will there ever be a day where a Nigerian digital system works as promised, no drama, bugs or detours? For now, it’s the same old dance of users figuring it out on their own.
