Hawkify

Problem Statement

Hawker stalls are central to Singapore’s national identity, but many remain invisible at the key moment when diners decide what to eat.

The National Environment Agency records 13,500 cooked-food stalls in public hawker centres, yet checks on Google Maps and interviews at 4 major centres show that 55% of stalls are not on Google Maps. A 2024 survey of Singapore residents finds that 7 in 10 people open a food-delivery or map app before every meal. When a stall is missing online, it never enters that choice set.

The discovery gap is sustained by 3 key factors

1. Digital onboarding is complex and time-consuming. Google’s Business Profile requires over 20 fields and often takes days to verify. Many hawkers, most above 50, abandon the process or lack the digital skills to return and update.

2. Listings are fragmented and frequently outdated. Hawkers often rely on scattered social-media posts or one-off user uploads, which means unit numbers, names and menus are often missing, duplicated or inconsistent, leaving wide blanks in search results.

3. Diners are creatures of habit. Our field survey shows that 80% of youths return to the same two stalls when they do not find a good recommendation nearby or online.

Stalls that appear in search attract stronger lunchtime crowds and wider exposure, while those that remain unlisted lose footfall and revenue, putting their dishes and livelihoods at risk. If this gap is not closed, the flavours that earned Singapore’s hawker culture its UNESCO inscription will remain out of digital reach, eroding today’s earnings and weakening our food heritage for tomorrow.

Our Solution

Hawkify enables hawkers to gain visibility and strengthen their livelihoods by connecting them with a new generation of diners and supporters. By streamlining onboarding for hawkers and discovery for diners, hawkify brings every stall back onto the digital map, helping them reach a wider audience and remain relevant and accessible in a changing Singapore.

Meet the team

Team Hawkify

Team members:

Ruchel - Engineer

Shui Yan - Engineer

Xin Bei - Engineer

Raghav - Engineer