FG To Reduce Cost of Business Registration, Incorporation for Small Businesses

There are in indications that a new incentive is coming to small business entrepreneurs for business formalization and standardization.

It is aimed at getting small business owners to formalize their businesses by registering them with corporate affairs commission while those that have already registered in the Business Name category would be incentivized to upgrade to limited liability companies.

The government is worried that many small business owners are not registered while the registered ones are operating just as business names which limits their opportunities in consummating certain levels of businesses.

Most big companies in Nigeria and government agencies do not want to do business with individuals or businesses operating with just business name registration.

The office of the vice president was said to have been inundated with claims that the small businesses are hampered in growth despite all government push towards empowering them, mainly because they are not accepted as formalized or standardized and therefore not patronized by well established businesses and government agencies.

Consequently, a statement from the office of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, said: “The government is exploring an initiative to allow a special window of 90 days for MSMEs, who have not registered their businesses to do so at a highly subsidized price. This is a special initiative of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).”