Good Foodie Media Sdn Bhd, in collaboration with Maybank and Payments Network Malaysia (PayNet) have announced the Foodie Hawker Awards 2024, the first-ever local hawker food recognition initiative aimed to celebrate Malaysia's vibrant street food culture while supporting local hawkers.

This initiative recognises Malaysia as a melting pot of culinary diversity, where every dish tells a story of tradition, culture, and passion. The food offerings are a harmonious mix of flavours from all races, creating a cacophony of delicious experiences. Popular dishes like nasi lemak, laksa, roti canai, and satay, alongside many regional specialities, make Malaysia a paradise for food enthusiasts.
 
According to the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, gastro diplomacy is among the top attractions for international tourists. Malaysia received 20 million tourists last year and is a major tourist destination among ASEAN travellers, many of whom cited food as one of the primary reasons for their visit. UNESCO also recently recognised Kuching as one of its Creative Cities of Gastronomy, highlighting its rich and diverse food culture. Malaysia also boasts 50 Michelin-recognised restaurants around the country.  
 
The Foodie Hawkers Awards 2024 aims to celebrate and elevate the local food scene by crowdsourcing votes for favourite local food hawkers. The award winners will be determined by the general public's vote, where they can vote once in each of the 14 states featured.
 
The campaign runs from 1 July to 31 December 2024, with winners honoured at an award ceremony in January 2025. The award is open to all F&B merchants operating as 'hawkers'—including roadside stalls, market food stalls, traditional coffee shops, and food trucks nationwide. To participate, hawkers must either be an existing Maybank QRPayBiz merchant or sign up for a Maybank QRPayBiz account, with a minimum of 200 MAE QRPay transactions during the campaign period.
 
Participating merchants will be listed on the Foodie Asia webpage for Malaysians to review and cast their votes. All participants will receive a “Featured on Foodie Hawker Awards 2024” sticker to proudly display at their stalls. Additionally, selected merchants could be featured on Foodie Asia and Maybank's social media pages, as well as in any ad-hoc promotional campaigns run by MAE by Maybank2u. From 15 September to 31 December this year, customers spending a minimum of RM8 by Scan & Pay on the MAE app at the Foodie Hawker featured outlets will get a RM2 discount, using the promo code “MAEFHA2”.
 
Nicholas Lim Pinn Yang, Founder and CEO of Good Foodie Media affirms that the Foodie Hawker Awards will be a long-term commitment to empower Malaysia’s vibrant local food scene. “We’ve been helping SMEs & hawkers to promote their business online and a recognition award has been something I wanted to do for the F&Bs scene in Malaysia,” he said. 
 
“It will be an award for Malaysians by Malaysians,” he added. 
 
Syed Ahmad Taufik Albar, Group CEO, Maybank Community Financial Services said that Maybank has always been actively helping local hawkers and small businesses thrive through various initiatives, such as the zero-commission online platform Sama-Sama Lokal.
 
“By empowering our hawkers with QRPay through the MAE app, we are creating a seamless payment ecosystem that will help expand their customer base. As of today, approximately 750,000 of Malaysian merchants offer cashless payments with Maybank’s QRPayBiz, where almost half are micro SMEs. This new collaboration will further drive the adoption of cashless payments, including facilitating cross-border transactions for tourists from Thailand, Singapore, China and Indonesia.  With millions of visitors annually from these countries, QRPay will be a game-changer for the hawkers. This initiative is core to Maybank's commitment to financial inclusion, supporting micro-SMEs and driving digital transformation,” added Taufik.
 
Azrul Fakhzan Mainor, Senior Director of PayNet’s Commercial Division stated, "This collaboration reaffirms our commitment to driving digital transformation and financial inclusion among micro-SMEs (MSMEs). By integrating DuitNow QR solutions, we aim to empower local hawkers, enhancing their business operations and expanding their customer base. Additionally, this will also cultivate stronger adoption of digital payments among MSMEs, ultimately boosting their sales opportunities and revenue through cashless acceptance. Collectively, beyond celebrating food, we are fostering a vibrant, connected, and sustainable local business ecosystem through digital empowerment in Malaysia."
 
Please go to Foodie Hawker Awards 2024 for more information and vote for the participants.

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