It’s here! Forbes Magazine has finally released the ‘30 Under 30 Asia’ list of young trailblazers across the Asian region.
Forbes Magazine recently released the young entrepreneurs who successfully made it to the ’30 Under 30 Asia 2022’. Despite having been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, these young leaders and trailblazers across the Asia-Pacific region were able to drive innovation and make an inspiring change in their respective fields – by delivering e-commerce and online learning services to venturing into visions that may redefine the future of Asia.
For this year, the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Class of 2022 features 30 notable young leaders, trailblazers, and innovators who made a significant impact in each of the ten categories: (1) Arts, (2) Entertainment and Sports, (3) Media, Marketing, and Advertising, (4) Social Impact, (5) Retail and E-commerce, (6) Enterprise Technology, (7) Industry, Manufacturing, and Energy, (8) Healthcare and Science, (9) Social Impact and Consumer Technology, and (10) Finance and Venture Capital.
Singaporeans Made it to Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia for 2022
Out of the 4,000 nominees coming from twenty-two countries and territories, 90 out of the 300 entries of this year’s lineup came from Southeast Asia – as vetted by the group of respected judges. Here are some of the Singaporeans who snagged a spot on the Forbes’ most coveted list:
Grace Ling (founder of GRACE LING)
At the height of the pandemic in 2020, Grace Ling launched the eponymous label that combines 3D technology, CAD software, and CGI in order to produce high fashion pieces with pure zero waste. Because of such innovation, she was featured by Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. Renowned actress Paige Desorbo, Youtuber Emma Chamberlain, and model Karlie Kloss were some of the individuals spotted to be wearing pieces from GRACE LING.
Annette Lee (YouTuber of Glowing up and The Ann & Ben Show)
The native Singaporean singer-songwriter, filmmaker, and influencer, Annette Lee is known for her comedy music series and shows on YouTube also made it to this year’s list of 30 Under 30 Asia list for 2022.
Loh Kean Yew (Badminton World Champion)
Another Singaporean who made it to the list under the Entertainment and Sports category is the current title holder of the 2021 BWF World Championship. The 24-year-old Singaporean badminton world champion in Men’s Singles category made history for the country by being the first Singaporean to do so.
Hafiz Kasman, Joshua Phua, and Benjamin Wong (co-founders of Kinobi)
In 2021, the three graduates of Singapore Management University developed Kinobi – which has massively helped students draft resumes and cover letters, practice job interviews, and learn more from the short online courses available. By far, it has helped around 400,000 students and remained in partnership with over 60 universities across Indonesia, Singapore, and the Philippines.
Shaun John Cheetham, Edmund Chew, Derrick Lee, and Quah Zheng Wei (co-founders of Accredify)
Aside from creating the leading service provider for organizations and individuals to issue and verify tamper-proof and traceable documents digitally, the aforementioned co-founders of Accredify have also co-created Singapore’s national COVID-19 test standard HealthCerts, alongside Singapore’s Ministry of Health.
Benjamin Harris (founder of watchTowr)
After hacking into his school’s network at 16, Harris began his professional cyber security career and launched the startup watchTowr in August 2021. It then raised US$2.25 million in seed funding from Wavemaker Partners and Vulcan Capital. The Singapore-based startup has been accredited by the global certification body for cybersecurity professionals, CREST, where Harris is also a board member and assessor.
Kaniyet Rayev (co-founder of Appboxo)
Along with his co-founder Nursultan Keneshbekov (who’s over 30 years old), Kaniyet Rayev created a platform that enables the building super-app or mini-app ecosystems by easing integration with external applications, the Appboxo. The said app currently works with the big players in the industry, including e-wallets Paytm and GCash.
Jeremy Hon, Lee Kai Yi, Eugene Ng, and Jason Seah (co-founders of StaffAny)
The four co-founders began their startup journey at the National University of Singapore’s Overseas Colleges program. There they started the workforce management solution, StaffAny, which was envisioned to help companies hire workers by the hour. This has helped a lot of SMEs optimize their scheduling, consolidate their timesheet, and even boost their company’s labor productivity and cost by up to three percent.
Peter Kristiano Widjaja (co-founder of Hubble)
With more than 2,300 companies registered as clients, Widjaja’s Hubble was able to help manage and monitor the construction projects of many companies and establishments – in aspects such as permits, workforce, machinery, and supply of construction materials.
Rio Hoe and Guadalupe Lazaro (co-founders of Ease Healthcare)
Operating as a digital health startup, Ease Healthcare focuses on women’s sexual and reproductive healthcare by incorporating education, a community support network, relevant digital tools, and professional help for women to overcome barriers. Through this app, users can virtually consult doctors and get services including prescriptions for birth control and at-home STI testing.
As the financial tech hub of Southeast Asia, most of the young professionals, founders, trailblazers, and leaders who made it to the list are part of the Financial and Venture Capital, like Zheng Zee, Theodoric Chew, Aniket Singh Rajput, Chong Voon Foo, Daryl Lim, Animesh Jha, Arthur Lee, Rayner Loi, and Rebecca Xing. They were able to live up to the criteria for honorees, which include the embodiment of leadership and entrepreneurial spirit like Forbes. Other factors like innovation, size, and growth since founding were also considered.
Outside Singapore, other familiar personalities who made it to Forbes 30 Under 30 list include the members of the South Korean band Aespa, Olympic gold medalist freestyle skier Eileen Gu, and Squid Game multi-awarded actress HoYeon Jung.
Cover image credits: Annette Lee, Grace Ling Instagram
