When Luane Jennings watched small Jamaican businesses struggle to appear in Google search results unless they paid for ads—and then watched those same businesses get buried in social media algorithms unless they paid again—she decided to build something different.

That solution is NearMeNow, a hyperlocal business discovery platform launching across Jamaica that puts small businesses back on equal footing with bigger advertisers.

“I kept hearing the same story from business owners,” says Jennings. “They’d spend JMD $5,000, $10,000 monthly on Facebook ads and Google just to be seen. The moment they stop paying, they disappear. Meanwhile, if you search for a restaurant in Ocho Rios, Google shows you paid results from Kingston. That’s not helping anyone.”

NearMeNow works differently. The platform uses geo-fencing technology so users only see businesses in their current parish. Someone opening NearMeNow in St Ann sees exclusively St Ann businesses. In Kingston, only Kingston businesses appear. No algorithm deciding who gets seen. No businesses from other parishes crowding out local options.

The platform also serves visitors to Jamaica. Tourists can use NearMeNow to discover authentic local businesses they wouldn’t find through typical online searches—the family-run restaurant in Ocho Rios, the craft vendor in the hills, the tour operator who isn’t on the first page of Google. “Visitors want to support local, but they don’t know how to find us beyond the resort strip,” says Jennings. “NearMeNow shows them the real Jamaica, parish by parish.”

“We’re built like TikTok but for discovering businesses you can actually visit today,” Jennings explains. “Each business creates one video showing what they do—their food, their service, their work. When someone opens NearMeNow, they’re not looking for entertainment. They’re looking to spend money. They want to find a plumber, a restaurant, a hair salon. We connect them directly.”

The platform operates on an annual subscription model, designed to be more cost-effective than typical monthly advertising expenses. Instead of paying repeatedly to reach people who might scroll past, businesses reach everyone in their parish who’s actively searching.

The platform also features a promotional tool that eliminates the “pay for eyes” problem. When a business runs a promotion, it goes directly to every NearMeNow user in that parish—all 10,000 at once if that’s the user base, not just whoever the algorithm decides to show it to.

NearMeNow has already launched in St Ann with businesses signing up, and is now expanding to Kingston and additional parishes. Early response has been strong from business owners tired of the monthly advertising treadmill.

“This isn’t about competing with Google or Meta globally,” says Jennings. “This is about giving Jamaican businesses a platform built for how Jamaica actually works—parish by parish, community by community. When you’re ready to support local, we show you who’s local.”

The platform is live now at NearMeNow.live and works on any smartphone without requiring an app download.

Businesses interested in joining can register at NearMeNow.live, with special rates available for early adopters.