Bola Soko: AI procurement starts with better questions

A buyer’s view of AI procurement

Bola Soko came to DigiGov to explore what technology providers could offer public sector buyers. Speaking with interviewer Lieske, she describes an interest in IT services, particularly AI and AI governance.

The conversation quickly moves from the available products to the practical questions behind them. How do you help a large organisation clean its data? It is a useful shift in emphasis: a promising tool still needs information that people can understand and work with.

What should buyers ask about data before adopting AI?

Lieske brings Jtan Styla, founder of HIKOMORE, into the conversation to answer Bola’s data questions. Jtan describes an iterative approach involving data ingestion, policies and evaluations, with repeated checks before the results are ready to use.

Bola then asks about taxonomy: how do you make the definitions clear before putting data into an AI tool? Her question brings the discussion back to the categories and meanings that underpin a system.

Jtan’s response describes defining categories in a structured format and working through the data in layers. He uses food safety and allergens as an example. That is Jtan’s account of the implementation approach; Bola’s contribution is the buyer’s challenge to explain how the underlying information becomes usable.

Hear more from Bola

Bola is the speaker for the free online CIPS webinar Agentic AI: The Challenge Procurement Can’t Ignore, listed for 8 October 2026 at 18:00 BST. Hosted by the CIPS Birmingham & Coventry branch, the session covers procurement’s role in AI governance, emerging risks and contract considerations when buying or building agentic tools.

View the CIPS webinar and registration details ↗

For the supplier’s perspective, read Linda Striano of Stotles on preparing for public sector sales.