4 Pinoys make it to Forbes ‘30 under 30 Asia 2019’ list

MANILA, Philippines — Four young individuals from the Philippines made it to the Forbes’ fourth “30 Under 30 Asia” annual list.

They are Kenn Costales, founder of Monolith Growth Consulting; Georgianna Carlos, founder of Fetch! Naturals and Earl Forlales and Zahra Halabisaz Zanjani, cofounders of CUBO Modular.

Costales founded Monolith Growth in 2016. It is a performance marketing firm with offices in Singapore and Manila.  Fetch! Naturals is a premium pet care brand that uses natural ingredients while CUBO is a firm which designs and constructs bamboo houses in just four hours.

They join the Forbes’ list of “disruptors, innovators and entrepreneurs across Asia, all under the age of 30, who are challenging conventional wisdom and rewriting the rules for the next generation.”

The Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Class of 2019 includes 30 honorees in 10 categories – The Arts (Art and Style, Food and Drink), Entertainment and Sports, Finance and Venture Capital, Media, Marketing and Advertising, Retail and Ecommerce, Enterprise Technology, Industry, Manufacturing and Energy, Healthcare and Science, Social Entrepreneurs and Consumer Technology.

Rana Wehbe, Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia editor, said the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list this year highlights daring entrepreneurs who are building businesses mostly to solve problems in their industries.

“Forming 70 percent  of the 2019 list, startup founders are using technologies like AI, big data and blockchain to facilitate processes such as matching patients with potentially life-saving medical trials and providing enterprise solutions for small and medium enterprises who form the vast majority of businesses in the Asia Pacific region,” Wehbe said.

According to Wehbe many of the changemakers are actively working toward sustainability – from supplying affordable green energy in rural areas to cooking and promoting sustainable ingredients and campaigning to reduce the use of plastic straws.

Among those featured in this year’s list are South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink; popular Chinese actor Liu Haoran, 22; Hong Kong-based eyewear designer Percy Lau, 30; Hong Kong; Singaporean band The Sam Willows; Anurag Gupta and Sagar Yamalkar, 29 and 30, Cofounders of India’s DailyNinja; Agung Bezharie, Harya Putra and Sofian Hadiwijaya, 30, 25 and 30, Cofounders of Indonesia’s Warung Pintar.

According to Forbes, China has the highest number of honorees with 61 on this year’s list, followed closely by India with 59. Japan came in third with 30 honorees while South Korea took the fourth place with 28, followed by Singapore with 23. Notably, it is also the first time that honorees from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Laos appeared on the list.