Seven Filipinos who excelled in their fields were on the list of Forbes 30 under 30 Asia, featuring young entrepreneurs, leaders, and trailblazers in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Class of 2024 recognized 300 individuals under the age of 30, “who are leading the transformation of industries and finding innovative ways to navigate new business realities in the region.”
Rapper Ez Mil, was recognized in the category of Entertainment and Sports. Artist Joshua Serafin, was acknowledged in The Arts (Art & Style, Food & Drink) category, while Co-founder of Parallax Mikaela Helene Reyes, was honored in the Finance & Venture Capital category.
Meanwhile, four Filipinos were recognized in the Media, Marketing, and Advertising category, namely Artist and founder of Developh Chia Amisola; content creator Arshie Larga and Abigail Marquez; and BackScoop Founder Amanda Cua.
The 10 categories include The Arts (Art & Style, Food & Drink); Entertainment & Sports; Finance & Venture Capital; Media, Marketing & Advertising; Retail & E-commerce; Enterprise Technology; Industry, Manufacturing & Energy; Healthcare & Science; Social Impact and Consumer Technology.
“The world may be in flux but the entrepreneurs on the 2024 Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list continue to find creative ways to navigate new business realities and transform their industries,” Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Editor Rana Wehbe Watson said.
Read the honorees’ write-up from Forbes below:
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Entertainment and Sports
Ezekiel Miller, Rapper, 25
“The rap talents of Ez Mil, real name Ezekiel Miller, caught the attention of legends Dr. Dre and Eminem — even if they couldn’t understand his Filipino lyrics. Ez Mil first attracted attention with his reflections on Philippine nationalism in the track “Panalo,” but it was last year’s “Up Down” that brought him together with Dre and Eminem, with the latter performing on Ez Mil’s 2023 album “DU4LI7Y: REDUX.” Born in Olongapo, Ez Mil comes from a musical family, and is now based in Las Vegas.”
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Media, Marketing, and Advertising
Chia Amisola, Artist, 21
“Chia Amisola is a Filipino internet artist and founder of Developh, a nonprofit community that seeks to promote the use of ‘technology as a tool for liberation rather than oppression.’ Established in 2016, Developh oversees the Philippine Internet Archive that aims to preserve ‘digital work, movements, cultures, and art’ and engages in new media arts. Amisola’s work has been recognized by publications like the New Yorker and Frieze and has been exhibited in Berlin, San Francisco, London, Manila, and Toronto. One of Amisola’s recent website art projects, Ang Bantayog, commemorates victims of human rights abuses in the 1970s when the Philippines was under Martial Law.”
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Amanda Cua, BackScoop Founder, 21
“Amanda Cua founded Backscoop after she realized how hard it was to keep up with news about tech and startups in Southeast Asia. Backscoop is a newsletter on the startup scene, but Cua has started to run partner content as well. Cua says her updates and One More Scoop podcast helped startup founders find investors, and she has tens of thousands of followers. She has interviewed investors and founders, and herself been interviewed by CNN.”
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Ramon Christian Larga, Content Creator, 27
“Ramon Christian Larga — who also goes by Arshie Larga — is teaching about safe medicine use in a funny, compelling way. The licensed pharmacist, who works in his family’s pharmacy in the island province of Marinduque, has attracted nearly 4 million followers on TikTok with videos sharing his experiences and explaining how an ethical pharmacist helps take care of customers. He has started fundraising through social media, using the proceeds to pay the pharmaceutical bills of customers who can’t afford them. In 2023, Larga won TikTok Philippines’ award for best educational content creator.”
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Abigail Marquez, Content Creator, 23
“Abigail Marquez has been crowned the Lumpia Queen for her obsession with one Philippine fried snack, but she promotes all aspects of her nation’s food culture, a passion she has had since the age of 4. Marquez trained as a chef before moving into videography, and now runs a cooking channel on TikTok with more than 3 million followers. She won TikTok’s Creator of the Year for Food award in 2023 — after less than 2 years on the platform.”
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The Arts (Art & Style, Food & Drink)
Joshua Serafin, Artist, 28
“Joshua Serafin is a Philippine artist based in Brussels who was invited to participate in the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024. Serafin combines dance, music and theatre with live performance, typically exploring concepts of cultural identity, transmigration and queer representation. A permanent house artist at the Viernulvier arts center in Belgium, Serafin has also performed internationally, including at the ANTI – Contemporary Art Festival in Finland, TONO Festival in Mexico and the HAU Hebbel am User in Berlin. They have also been featured in publications such as L’Officiel and ArtReview.”
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Finance & Venture Capital
Mikaela Helene Reyes, Parallax Cofounder, 29
“Mikaela Reyes is a cofounder of Manila-based cross-border payment startup Parallax, which makes it easier and cheaper to move money around the globe using cryptocurrency and blockchain. She launched Parallax in 2023 after working as a freelancer and experiencing the hassles of getting paid from another country. Parallax initially targeted users from the Philippines but now has customers from over 150 countries. In September, Parallax raised $4.5 million in seed funding in a round led by Dragonfly Capital.”
