Starting a business in Nigeria: foreigner's guide (2026)

The Corporate Affairs Commission unveiled the Integrated Company Registration Portal (iCRP), an AI-driven platform allowing entrepreneurs to reserve names, complete registration, and receive digital certificates in under 10 minutes using only a National Identification Number (NIN), with no human intervention required. Nigeria became one of the fastest countries globally for business incorporation, with up to 10,000 registrations processed daily.

Following stakeholder engagement, the CAC reversed its planned implementation of a N100 million minimum paid-up share capital requirement for companies with any foreign participation, which had been scheduled to take effect on 5 December 2023. The reversal relieved foreign investors from a tenfold capital barrier that had threatened to sharply raise the cost of entry into the Nigerian market.

The Federal Ministry of Interior's Revised Handbook on Expatriate Quota Administration 2022 increased the minimum paid-up share capital for any company with foreign shareholding tenfold, from N10,000,000 to N100,000,000. The CAC intended to enforce this from December 2023 but subsequently reversed the rule after stakeholder objections.

The Corporate Affairs Commission launched the Company Registration Portal on 4 January 2021, enabling electronic name searches, pre- and post-incorporation filings, and online payments — completing the shift away from the manual, in-person registry that had defined Nigerian business registration for over three decades.

President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020, repealing CAMA 1990 and introducing Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs), single-member private companies, electronic share certificates, a relaxed regime for small companies, and an expanded digital mandate for the CAC. It is the most significant reform to Nigerian company law since independence.

The World Bank Doing Business 2020 report ranked Nigeria 131st out of 190 economies, up 39 places from 170th in 2017, citing reforms in starting a business, getting electricity, registering property, and getting credit. Nigeria was named one of the top 10 most-improved economies globally, validating the PEBEC reform programme.

As part of PEBEC-driven reforms, the CAC reduced the baseline cost of business name registration from N10,000 to N5,000 with a 90-day window period. In parallel, PEBEC launched a pilot regulatory reform programme targeting NAFDAC and the National Insurance Commission, stress-testing streamlined licensing processes before wider rollout.

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo signed Executive Order No. 1 of 2017, directing every federal ministry, department, and agency to publish its service timelines and deeming any licence, registration, or permit application not decided within the stipulated period as automatically approved. The order directly targeted CAC, NAFDAC, Customs, and Immigration as frontline business-registration bodies.