12 ‘innovative’ Pinoys feted in Forbes ‘30 Under 30 Asia’ list

From crypto gaming to cloud kitchens, 12 Filipinos were recognized in the latest Forbes “30 Under 30 Asia” list, which featured 300 regional entrepreneurs across a range of categories.

Now on its seventh edition, the list showcased the next-generation leaders who were “inspiring change and driving innovation in their respective fields amid the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Forbes recognized Filipino tech mavens, gaming enthusiasts and social entrepreneurs in five of the 10 categories: consumer technology, finance and venture capital, industry manufacturing and energy, and social impact.

The list included Justin Banusing, 22, Kevin Hoang, 29, and Ariane Lim, 28, the cofounders of e-sports startup AcadArena.

Founded in 2019, AcadArena has since partnered with over 600 schools with over 100,000 students to support gaming clubs and communities, Forbes said. AcadArena successfully raised $3.5 billion via a seed fundraising round with backers led by Kevin Lin, cofounder of video game streaming platform Twitch.

Also on the list were Jeth Lorenz Ang, 27, Renz Carlo Chong, 26, and Nicolo Alfonso Odulio, 28.

The trio founded BreederDAO, a startup riding on the popularity of crypto gaming.

BreederDAO, which raised $10 million in series A funding through a token sale co-led by Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z and Delphi Digital, specializes in crafting digital characters and items used in nonfungible token-based games such as Axie Infinity and Sipher.

For the social impact category, Forbes chose Billie Dumaliang, 29, the cofounder of Masungi Georeserve Foundation. The Masungi project spans 2,700 hectares in Rizal province in the Philippines.

The conservation park was awarded the 2021 Water Changemakers Award and a special commendation in the 2018 UN Convention on Biological Diversity, Forbes said.

Honored in the same category was Shawntel Nicole Martinez Nieto, 26. She is the executive director of One Cainta Food Program.

One Cainta has provided over 1.1 million food hampers to 400,000 people in Luzon, Forbes said. Martinez Nieto was also behind SustainaRumble Podcasts and Modular Education X.

Filipinos in the category of finance and venture capital were Earvin Ang, 29, and Jesse Manalansan, 27, the founders of Aqwire, an online property investment platform.

For retail and commerce was Victor Lim, 28, the cofounder of Kraver’s Canteen, which runs a multibrand “cloud kitchen” serving the likes of Foodee Group and Pizza Hut.

For industry, manufacturing and energy was Inteluck founder Kevin Zhang, 28. Inteluck is a tech-driven logistics startup, which is expanding outside the Philippines in countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia.