Friends start Singapore's first halal food delivery platform

INDU ELANGOVAN

You don't have to go to a hawker centre for your favourite food now that Foodboys will deliver it to you.

Mr Kiran Prabakaran, 23, a mechanical engineering student at the National University of Singapore (NUS), and Mr Mohamed Ibrahim, 26, who works in his father's drinks stall, have joined hands to launch Singapore's first halal food delivery platform.

Started last month, Foodboys (https://foodboys.sg) delivers more than 100 halal dishes from over 40 stalls in four popular food markets, including Haig Road and Geylang Serai.

Major companies such as Grab and Foodpanda mostly deliver food from restaurants and malls. They do not provide service from popular food markets due to the long queues and waiting time.

Foodboys allows customers to tuck into their favourite halal hawker delights such as Haig Road putu piring and Ayer Raja Habib's rojak in the comfort of their homes. It delivers dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The pair, who were introduced by a mutual friend, hope to expand the service to more hawker centres and food markets in the coming months.

Mr Ibrahim, who dropped out of the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) after two years due to financial difficulties, realised that hawkers like his father were signficantly affected during the Covid-19 circuit-breaker as there was no one to deliver their food items and drinks to homes.

He decided to deliver food and drinks to his father's regular customers on his motorbike.

The service then became a full-fledged business with Mr Kiran's support. The pair spent months on research before setting up Foodboys. Mr Kiran handles the accounts, marketing and business development, while Mr Ibrahim takes care of operations such as liaising with stall owners, delivery men and customers. "We have also created a WhatsApp service for less tech-savvy elderly customers who are not comfortable placing orders through our website," said Mr Ibrahim.

Mr Kiran, a fourth year student at NUS, has been working since the age of 15. "I went for my first part-time job when I was 15," he said. "I have cleaned tables, hung clothes and driven people around. I have done all sorts of work.

"At a young age I realised that I could not see myself working on a fixed schedule. My first entrepreneurship experience was being a financial adviser.

"I have always wanted to start a business. I have been saving for this since young."

indue@sph.com.sg

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