By 
By Chinedu James
The Nigeria government has slashed the cost of business registration to five thousand naira (N5,000), about USD14 in order to boost the processes involved in business operations, enhance the ease of doing business and to encourage entrepreneurship across the country.
The new rate offers over a 100% cut in the cost of registering new businesses. The reduced cost, however, lasts for only 90 days beginning October 1 to end December 31.
Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo made the declaration while speaking at the recent launch of 19th edition of the National Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) Clinic in Enugu.
According to Osinbajo, having observed that entrepreneurs experience difficulty with the cost of registration which disrupts the operations of businesses, the federal government, as a way, to further support the business community in Nigeria which will in turn provide employment decided to take the step through the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
“It was observed during some of the earlier editions of the MSME Clinics that a lot of MSMEs were finding it difficult to register their businesses as a result of cost.
“The practice since we began the MSME clinics is that most agencies offer price reductions especially for registration, and all other pre-investment approvals, during the Clinics.
“So, I am pleased to announce that the federal government, through the Corporate Affairs Commission, has approved a special window of 90 days from yesterday October 1st to Dec 31st 2018, to register businesses at a considerably reduced rate of N5000 only, down from as much as N10,000 previously. This will afford more MSMEs an opportunity to formalize their businesses,” Osinbajo said.
