Lumpia Queen, 6 other Pinoys make Forbes’ 30 Under 30

MANILA, Philippines — Seven Filipinos have landed in the Forbes “30 Under 30 Asia,” a list that recognizes young entrepreneurs, leaders and trailblazers from across the Asia-Pacific region.

Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Class of 2024 features 300 people all under the age of 30 who are leading the transformation of industries and finding innovative ways to navigate new business realities in the region.

Those in the list come across 10 categories covering 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 Impact and Consumer Technology.

Of the seven Filipinos in the list, three are from the media, marketing and advertising category.

They are the 23-year-old content creator Abigail Marquez, 27-year-old content creator Ramon Christian Larga, and 23-year-old internet artist Chia Amisola.

Marquez, popularly known as the Lumpia Queen, runs a cooking channel on TikTok with more than three million followers where she promotes all aspects of her nation’s food culture.

Larga, a licensed pharmacist, has nearly four million followers on TikTok with videos sharing his experiences and explaining how an ethical pharmacist helps take care of customers.

Amisola, for her part, is the founder of Developh, a nonprofit community that seeks to promote the use of technology as a tool for liberation rather than oppression.

Meanwhile, included in the arts category is 28-year-old Joshua Serafin, an artist based in Brussels who combines dance, music and theater with live performance, typically exploring concepts of cultural identity, transmigration and queer representation.

The 29-year-old Mikaela Reyes, a co-founder of Manila-based cross-border payment startup Parallax, was part of the finance and venture capital category. Launched in 2023, Parallax makes it easier and cheaper to move money around the globe using cryptocurrency and blockchain.

For the media, marketing and advertising category, 21-year-old Amanda Cua made the list. Cua is the founder of BackScoop, a newsletter on the startup scene.

Also making it in the list under the entertainment and sports category is 25-year-old rapper Ezekiel Miller, who caught the attention of rap legends Dr. Dre and Eminem.

The 2024 list features a diverse set of listees, with 21 countries and territories represented across the Asia-Pacific region.

India had the most with 86 entries, followed by China and Japan at 32 each, Singapore with 27, Australia with 26 and Indonesia with 18.

Among those featured on this year’s list are K-pop girl band Ive; Singapore’s track and field athlete Veronica Shanti Pereira, Japan’s youngest mayor Ryosuke Takashima of Ashiya City, Maya Kale who cofounded Singapore-based supplements company Moom Health, and Indonesia’s Muhammad Agung Saputra, co-founder of SurplusIndonesia.

Forbes Asia said more than 4,000 candidates were evaluated by its team and a panel of independent expert judges on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, funding and/or revenue, social impact, scale, inventiveness and potential.