South Africa is renowned for its ability to leapfrog its global counterparts when it comes to technology – fintech, agritech, and mobility are just some examples – and now new Mustek subsidiary, Business AI, is aiming to do the same with enterprise AI.
In collaboration with Beyond Now, the company has officially launched the Business AI Marketplace – a breakthrough platform connecting organisations to vetted, enterprise-ready AI solutions and accredited service providers – and a major step in creating a continental ecosystem that, in the words of CEO Rudi Dreyer “is created from Africa for Africa.”
It also positions Business AI as the first and only integrated ecosystem of its kind in Africa.
“You don’t build an AI Core alone – you build it through connection, collaboration, and clarity of purpose,” Dreyer says. “The Marketplace gives African enterprises access to the same trusted technologies as the world’s largest players – but in a way that’s local, accessible, and built for how we actually do business.”
Dreyer says the launch represents a defining moment for Africa’s AI economy – a first-mover advantage for Business AI as it establishes the continent’s most trusted gateway to enterprise-ready AI. Business AI has created a single point of entry for enterprises ready to scale responsibly – without excessive cost, risk, or the uncertainty of vendor lock-in.
In contrast to most global providers who operate within a lock-in economy, Business AI offers freedom of choice. Organisations can explore, imagine, build, and scale with any major AI provider inside a secure, vendor-neutral environment, switching foundational models as they evolve. This flexibility is critical in a market where no one yet knows who will win the AI race – and where resilience depends on agility.
“We believe in trusted, scalable, and flexible AI architectures that can run anywhere – in the cloud, on-premises, private data centres, or at the edge,” says Dreyer. “Our clients deserve the freedom to move their workloads wherever it makes the most business sense – for cost, security, or AI-sovereignty reasons.”
A defining feature of Business AI’s model, Dreyer explains, is its local-install, local-currency approach – removing barriers to adoption by aligning pricing and deployment models with regional realities. From Cape Town to Cairo, clients can now access global AI infrastructure in local environments, ensuring compliance, affordability, and long-term sustainability.
Through its partnership with Beyond Now – a company that also powers marketplaces for global giants like Verizon – Business AI seamlessly connects Africa with the world’s leading marketplaces, giving proudly South African, productised AI solutions – built following the Business AI framework – direct exposure to the global market.
Dreyer says that the new subsidiary has a clear mission: to transform AI from hype to strategic game changer. The Marketplace, he adds, embodies this philosophy – giving businesses the tools, partners, and insights they need to explore what’s possible, imagine what’s next, build with purpose, and scale with confidence.
“AI adoption doesn’t fail because of technology – it fails because businesses lack clarity and trust,” Dreyer says. “That’s why we’ve built an ecosystem where every solution is vetted, every provider accredited, and every pathway transparent. Business AI gives leaders a safe way to explore and deploy AI responsibly – with measurable outcomes.”
And local companies are demonstrating their confidence in the new company’s approach to AI. In the relatively short period since its inception, Business AI has signed up some of the continent’s leading enterprises including Woolworths, Italtile, Bidvest, Gap Infrastructure Corporation, Stefanutti Stocks and parent company Mustek.