Local AI BusinessinaBox startup NowNow takes aim at SA’s tender black hole

When using AI in businesses in South Africa, it can be prone to hallucinations as the models have limited training data on local companies, products and regulations. Lars Gumede, a young SwedishSouth African tech entrepreneur, has developed a local AI product called NowNow to give businesses in South Africa better access to AI. In an interview with BizNews, he describes it as the ultimate AI assistant for South African businesses, trained exclusively on SA data including SARS, the CIPC and labour laws. Gumede explains it can handle tasks like email summaries, calendar management, receipt and invoice processing, compliance checks and, crucially, tender discovery. A core focus, he said, is enhancing transparency in government tenders to reduce secretive “nobid” scenarios where corruption thrives, increase competition among bidders and ultimately deliver better value for taxpayers. He has offered his services to the government but says the response has been slow.