Debated in Parliament on 2 Aug 2021.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment whether the Government will consider working with the various hawkers’ and F&B associations to establish a centralised hawker food platform, to provide an open platform to all hawkers and assist, in particular, those less-technologically inclined.
Online food delivery services can support and boost hawkers’ businesses, which have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. To help hawkers increase their online presence and adopt the food delivery services suited to their business needs, hawkers’ representatives, online food delivery platforms and community groups have come together with the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Infocomm Media Development Agency (IMDA) to convene an Alliance for Action (AfA) on online ordering of hawker food.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for all hawkers, as they have diverse profiles and considerations. The AfA is working together to drive actionable outcomes to support our hawkers, especially those who are less technologically savvy, through three workstreams, each co-led by industry and hawker representatives. The AfA aims to raise hawkers’ awareness of different online ordering platforms and enhance ease of adoption, work towards lower and more sustainable platform costs for hawkers through exploring different business models and increasing consumer awareness of hawkers’ online presence and activating consumer demand through digital and other means.
The AfA will complement existing community initiatives as well as Government schemes, such as NEA’s Food Delivery Support Scheme, which supported hawkers to onboard food delivery services and IMDA’s Hawkers Go Digital programme which supported hawkers to adopt e-payment. On the ground, Digital Ambassadors from SG Digital Office will continue to engage and support hawkers on their digitalisation journey, including getting onboard e-payment and online food delivery platforms. Details of AfA’s recommendations will be shared in the last quarter of 2021.
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