# TenderLens: Turning WhatsApp & Gemma into an Autonomous Bid Assistant for Contractors > Source: > Published: 2026-10-19 02:33:20+00:00 *This article is submitted for the **Hacktoberfest Open-Source AI Challenge: Week 2 (Side Hustle)**.* *Target Categories: **Overall Winner**, **Best Use of Render**, **Best Use of Gemma**, **Best Use of Temporal**.* In Trinidad & Tobago (and throughout the Commonwealth Caribbean), billions of dollars in state contracts are awarded annually under public procurement laws. Small and medium contractors—plumbers, HVAC technicians, electrical contractors, janitorial services—desperately want these jobs. Yet, **over 60% of bids from small contractors get disqualified before technical evaluation begins**. Why? Not because their prices or craft are inadequate, but because of **administrative bureaucracy and silent lead-time traps**: Contractors are busy on job sites. They don't need another generic PDF summarizer that tells them what they already know. **They need proactive follow-through.** **TenderLens** is an open-source AI tender readiness and follow-through assistant that lives right in the contractor's WhatsApp. Instead of waiting for the contractor to remember deadlines, TenderLens actively drives the bid process from the first Sunday morning newspaper clipping through to final bid package assembly. ``` journey title The Contractor Journey with TenderLens section 1. Notice Discovery Spot tender in Sunday newspaper: 5: Contractor Snap photo to WhatsApp: 5: Contractor Extract dates, ref & package instructions: 5: TenderLens (Gemma 2) Auto-draft package request email to agency: 5: TenderLens section 2. Site Visit & Early Milestones Alert 2 days before Site Visit registration: 5: TenderLens (Temporal) Contractor confirms site visit registered: 4: Contractor section 3. Full Bid Intake Forward downloaded RFP PDF / upload bundle: 5: Contractor Extract BIR/NIS/VAT & Bid Bond checklists: 5: TenderLens section 4. Proactive Follow-Through Scheduled check-ins on outstanding statutory docs: 5: TenderLens (Temporal) Escalate approaching submission deadline: 5: TenderLens Bid successfully submitted on time: 5: Contractor ``` A contractor snaps a photo of a newspaper notice (like the authentic WASA tender notice below) and forwards it to TenderLens on WhatsApp. TenderLens extracts: `W.T.C. - 40/2026` `purchasingandstores@agency.gov.tt` for Oracle ERP issuance. Once the contractor receives access to the 50–100 page RFP package, they forward the document or drop it onto the TenderLens secure upload portal. TenderLens scans the document and isolates every mandatory clause with **exact page citations**: Deterministic code, not LLM memory, controls follow-through. Using **Temporal durable workflows**, TenderLens maintains a multi-week timer loop. If the contractor hasn't confirmed their BIR certificate with 10 days to go, TenderLens initiates a proactive WhatsApp check-in: *"TenderLens Check-in for W.T.C. - 40/2026: Your BIR Tax Clearance Certificate is still marked as outstanding. IRD typically requires 5–10 business days for processing. Have you submitted your application? Reply: Done, Waiting on IRD, or Need help."* When the contractor replies *"Waiting on IRD"*, the Temporal workflow updates state and reschedules the next check-in. Tender preparation requires commercial confidentiality. Contractors are handling sensitive pricing, tax clearance documents, banking credentials, and proprietary methodology. Uploading these indiscriminately to closed, multi-tenant proprietary chatbots raises serious privacy and data ownership concerns. By building on **open-source AI and open-weight models**, TenderLens keeps costs predictable and guarantees data sovereignty. ``` php graph TD User([Contractor on WhatsApp]) <-->|Images, PDFs, Messages| Bridge[WhatsApp Cloud API Gateway] Bridge <--> Agent[TenderLens Agent Core] subgraph Core Engine [Render Hosted Services] Agent <--> Tools[TenderLens Procurement Tools] Tools --> AdParser[Tender Notice Image Parser] Tools --> EmailDrafter[Procurement Request Email Drafter] Tools --> PDFParser[Full RFP Compliance Parser] Tools --> TemporalClient[Temporal Workflow Client] TemporalClient <--> TemporalWorker[Temporal Worker & Workflows] TemporalWorker --> DB[(Managed PostgreSQL)] end subgraph AI Inference Layer Agent <--> Gemma[Google Gemma 2 Open-Weight LLM] end TemporalWorker -->|Scheduled Proactive Check-ins & Alerts| Bridge ``` `TenderFollowThroughWorkflow`) managing multi-week timers, signals, and queries that survive server restarts.`render.yaml`) automating deployment of the FastAPI Web Gateway, Temporal Worker, and Managed PostgreSQL database. | Offer | Experimental Pricing | Who Buys It | |---|---|---| | **Single Tender Readiness Report** | TT$150–$250 (~$25–$35 USD) | Small contractors bidding once or twice a year | | **Active Bid Tracking & Proactive Reminders** | TT$350–$500 (~$50–$75 USD) | Subcontractors entering critical government tenders | | **Monthly Unlimited Tender Retainer** | TT$800–$1,200/mo (~$120–$180 USD) | Active civil, electrical, or facilities contractors | In conversations with local contractors in Trinidad, missing a single TT$250,000 maintenance contract because an administrative certificate expired costs thousands of times more than a TT$350 readiness check. To make testing instant for hackathon judges and readers without needing a WhatsApp developer sandbox, I built an **Interactive Web WhatsApp Simulator**: 👉 **Live Web Simulator**: [https://tenderlens-api-6q3t.onrender.com/demo](https://tenderlens-api-6q3t.onrender.com/demo) 👉 **Source Code**: [github.com/AnthonyASBaptiste/tenderlens](https://github.com/AnthonyASBaptiste/tenderlens) Try clicking the 1-tap quick action buttons in the demo: `📷 1. Send WASA Ad`: Ingests the authentic Trinidad newspaper ad and extracts critical dates.`✉️ 2. Request ERP Email`: Generates the official package request email.`📄 3. Send Full RFP`: Parses 10 compliance items with exact page citations.`⏰ 4. Trigger Check-in`: Fires a simulated Temporal proactive follow-up notification.`📊 5. Check Status`: Displays live bid readiness score.