In this yr’s Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia listing, 300 “vibrant and progressive leaders”, together with younger entrepreneurs and change-makers, have made the minimize.
Out of this lengthy listing, there are 22 excellent Singapore people who hail from totally different industries. Right here’s a breakdown of those homegrown successes and why they should be on the listing.
Adit Swarup, Associate of Rakuten Ventures
Class: Finance & Enterprise Capital
This 28-year-old is a founding member and one in every of two companions at Rakuten Ventures, the VC arm of Japanese e-commerce large Rakuten. At Rakuten, he leads the deployment and administration of a US$200 million early-stage funding fund.
Since becoming a member of the agency in 2014, he has led or supported investments in additional than 10 tech firms in Asia and america. Swarup has additionally served as a director on a number of boards, together with Malaysian meals supply startup Dahmakan and Singaporean classifieds market Carousell.
Benjamin Ang, Founding father of Genesis Movement Design
Class: Media, Advertising and Promoting
At 24, Ang invested S$15,000 of his personal financial savings to begin his personal movement design firm. He named it Genesis Movement Design, which produces animated movies and graphics.
Immediately, the corporate’s portfolio consists of blue-chip firms similar to Fb, McDonald’s and Disney, in addition to gaming companies Riot Video games and Razer.
Dongmei (Annie) An, Options Architect of Amazon Internet Companies
Class: Enterprise Know-how
This computing graduate from Nationwide College of Singapore helps enterprises throughout Southeast Asia in quite a lot of industries to innovate with Amazon’s cloud computing and AI-powered voice expertise.
She helped create the tech large’s first certification programme for voice-enabled functions, which was launched in April final yr. For her contributions at AWS and the trade, An was named Future CIO of the Yr 2019 on the Girls in IT Awards.
Jasper Yap, Logan Tan and Terence Goh, Co-founders of Eezee
Class: Retail and E-commerce
Eezee is a Singapore-based B2B market for industrial provides and {hardware} that goals to make procurement extra environment friendly. {The marketplace} offers patrons with entry to a variety of manufacturers and merchandise for simple comparability throughout items and suppliers.
As of 2019, Eezee had greater than 30,000 merchandise from about 700 suppliers listed on its platform. Final yr, it raised seed funding from Singapore-based Insignia Ventures Companions.
Ryan Lim and Lester Leong, Co-founders of Gush
Class: Business, Manufacturing and Power
Since beginning Gush in 2017, this younger duo have grown the corporate right into a rising star in sustainable paints and superior constructing supplies. Its flagship product — cair inside paint – is an odourless indoor paint that purifies the air, eliminates micro organism, regulates humidity and prevents mould.
It has been utilized in greater than 1,300 residential and 60 industrial initiatives in Singapore and Southeast Asia. One consumer is Singaporean healthcare supplier Thomson Medical, which paints its supply rooms with cair inside paint.
The corporate has raised US$2.2 million in a pre-Sequence A spherical from property group Metropolis Developments Restricted to develop into regional markets and develop new merchandise.
Elaine Tee and Suzana Tengku, Co-founders of Have Halal, Will Journey
Class: Media, Advertising and Promoting
Have Halal, Will Journey (HHWT) is a Muslim-focused media platform that gives a world information to meals, journey, and even prayer places.
The web site receives about 1.eight million web page views and 1.1 million distinctive guests a month, and has secured purchasers similar to Visa Worldwide, Singapore Tourism Board, Korea Tourism Group, Qatar Airways and KLM.
Kai Xin Koh and Eugene Cheng, Co-founders of HighSpark
Class: Media, Advertising and Promoting
After graduating from Singapore’s Ngee Ann Polytechnic in advertising and marketing communications, this duo teamed as much as assist purchasers create high-impact displays by visible storytelling.
From a beginning capital of S$1,100, the enterprise now pulls in six digits in gross sales and has tons of of purchasers, together with blue-chip firms Visa, Nike and Oracle. In phrases of future plans, the duo intends to launch a ebook and on-line course.
Ivan Yeo, Co-founder of EVOS eSports
Class: Leisure and Sports activities
In simply three years, Ivan Yeo has constructed EVOS eSports into the main skilled eSports firm in Southeast Asia, with a presence throughout 5 native markets. It manages 62 gamers throughout 12 aggressive groups, with a number of representing Singapore and Indonesia on the 2019 Southeast Asia Video games.
The corporate has raised US$4.Four million in a Sequence A spherical from traders similar to Insignia Enterprise Companions. With contemporary funding, Yeo plans to develop the startup’s esports leisure arm, which at the moment manages 50 gaming influencers with 25 million social media followers and 34 million YouTube subscribers.
James Lim, Managing Director for Asia-Pacific, Helpling
Class: Client Know-how
Helpling is a web based platform for on-demand housekeeping providers. On this platform, customers can examine cleaners’ profiles, their hourly charges and evaluations to seek out the very best cleansing supplier out of 4,000 cleaners.
Since Lim joined Helpling in December 2017, he grew its Asia-Pacific presence from six folks in Singapore to over 1,000 workers and companions throughout Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. Final yr, the Berlin-based firm raised US$22 million in a funding spherical led by German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1.
Jonathan Savoir, CEO of Quincus
Class: Business, Manufacturing and Power
Utilising pure language processing and machine studying, the Singapore-based startup helps logistics firms function extra effectively with its built-in provide chain administration platforms.
Since its launch in 2013, the startup has raised funding from strategic traders and is getting ready for a big fundraising later this yr. Final yr, Savoir was named Govt of the Yr for Logistics by Singapore Enterprise Evaluate.
Justin Lim, CEO of Fish & Chicks
Class: The Arts
The ‘hawkerpreneur’ based the stall in 2016 and rose in reputation when he launched a Salted Egg Yolk Fish & Chips dish to experience on the salted egg yolk pattern on the time. Although he didn’t have any prior F&B expertise, Lim continually explores new fusion dishes which can be a mixture of Singaporean flavours for typical Western dishes.
With 12 shops in Singapore, Lim is planning for additional growth in Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia.
Lisa Tang and Chew Shian Kuah, Co-founders of Kausmo
Class: The Arts
Backed by the Les Amis Group, Kausmo is a sustainability-focused restaurant. The founding duo primarily utilise ‘aesthetically filtered meals,’ outlined as substances which can be oddly-shaped, oddly-sized, overripe or over-stocked, and are centered on beginning conversations on meals norms and meals waste at Kausmo.
Tang specifically, was a finalist for the Rising Feminine Chef award on the World Gourmand Summit 2019.
Milad Mohammadzadeh and Sadaf Monajemi, Co-founders of See-Mode Applied sciences
Class: Healthcare and Science
This husband-and-wife crew co-founded a medtech startup that goals to enhance stroke prognosis and remedy by AI. The corporate claims that its algorithm can higher course of medical scans to determine dangers and alert medical doctors as to when a stroke may happen.
Their first product, a tool referred to as AVA (Augmented Vascular Evaluation), secured regulatory approval in Singapore final yr. In 2019, the crew raised US$1 million in seed funding from traders together with the Singaporean authorities’s SGInnovate and VC agency Cocoon Capital.
Shannon Lee Chaluangco, Director of MDI Ventures
Class: Finance & Enterprise Capital
Chaluangco joined MDI Ventures, a VC arm of Indonesian telecom large Telkom Indonesia, as an funding director in August final yr. She has invested US$50 million into startups up to now, together with main investments in Hong Kong restaurant reservation app Chope and Singaporean retail information analytics startup Omnistream.
Earlier than becoming a member of the VC world, the accounting graduate of the Nationwide College of Singapore had a brief stint as an auditor at Ernst & Younger.
Shavonne Wong, Director of Zhiffy Pictures
Class: The Arts
Zhiffy Pictures is a Singapore-based pictures studio. Apart from working with manufacturers like Sephora, Lancôme and HBO, Wong has been a recurring visitor photographer for Asia’s Subsequent High Mannequin.
Wong has additionally developed a way to supply what she calls ‘residing stills,’ that are animated nonetheless photos. To share her approach, she is partnering with pictures platform Fstoppers in New York Metropolis to supply a tutorial. Wong has obtained the Gold Award for Graphis Pictures Annual 2015.
Jonathan Ng and Chua Jian Yong, Co-founders of SinFooTech
Class: The Arts
SinFooTech is a Singapore-based firm centered on recycling waste by-products within the meals manufacturing trade.
The corporate’s newest patented innovation includes the bio-transformation of soy whey into an alcoholic beverage they’ve termed as Sachi. The drink, which was launched in March, is being commercialised for Singapore and different markets in Southeast Asia.
Steven Lam, Merchandise Initiative Director of Gradiant Worldwide
Class: Business, Manufacturing and Power
Gradiant Company is a Singapore-based firm that goals to resolve complicated water and wastewater remedy challenges. Their flagship expertise, Provider Fuel Extraction, mimics the rain cycle to supply freshwater from wastewater and saline streams.
At present, Gradiant treats and recycles over 50 million litres of water per day and has launched greater than 20 industrial initiatives in america, China and India. So far, the corporate has greater than 200 patents. In March, Gradiant expanded into Australia with the acquisition of Sydney-based CRS Water.
Theodore Kee, Head of Scientific Trials of Nationwide College of Singapore N.1 Institute for Well being
Class: Healthcare and Science
Kee’s analysis focuses on bettering scientific trials by information and AI applied sciences. As a substitute of counting on a healthcare supplier’s expertise to manage drug doses throughout a trial, his software program — CURATE.AI — sifts by a affected person’s medical information and historical past to advocate a remedy plan.
His crew is at the moment designing and implementing scientific trials for tumours and blood most cancers remedy growth.
Trang (Zean) Vo, Co-founder of Browzzin
Class: Media, Advertising & Promoting
Browzzin is an AI-powered trend social commerce app, the place customers can discover outfits and acquire trend inspiration in addition to store for the seems to be they like. They’ll additionally add photographs of merchandise and tag retailers — if their submit results in a sale, they earn a fee.
In 2019, Browzzin was a finalist for Drapers’ Finest Digital Innovation Award. That very same yr, Vo was one of many few Vietnamese entrepreneurs chosen for the Obama Basis Asia-Pacific Management Program and appeared as a visitor speaker at TEDxDakao in Ho Chi Minh Metropolis.
Jiacai Lau, Nicholas Lim and Tyler Jong, Co-founders of TreeDots
Class: Social Entrepreneurs
TreeDots is a B2B platform that redistributes surplus or imperfect meals at discounted costs. Whereas it primarily goals to deal with meals loss, the platform additionally connects suppliers with patrons, together with caterers, eating places, cafes, cafeterias, cloud kitchens and small meals stall, who’re on the lookout for value financial savings.
From 2018 to 2019, TreeDots saved 913 tons of meals from ending up in landfills. TreeDots was a finalist for the President’s Problem Social Enterprise Award 2019 by the Singapore Centre For Social Enterprise.
Ryan Chew and Yi Ming Ng, Co-founders of Tribe Accelerator
Class: Finance and Enterprise Capital
Tribe Accelerator is the primary blockchain accelerator supported by the Singaporean authorities. The accelerator has raised greater than US$30 million since its launch in 2018, backed by the likes of the Financial Authority of Singapore, Temasek, Citibank, IBM and Intel.
To this point, it has invested in 19 startups from two batches with a mixed worth of greater than US$300 million. Tribe additionally runs a blockchain academy with scholarships out there to builders throughout Southeast Asia.
Yash Sankrityayan, Principal of Jungle Ventures
Captivated with tech startups and entrepreneurship since his engineering undergrad days at India’s BITS Pilani, Sankrityayan has been an energetic enterprise capital investor in India and Southeast Asia since 2014, first on the World Financial institution IFC and at the moment at Jungle Ventures.
He has led greater than 15 early and progress stage investments price US$125 million into startups similar to BigBasket.com, Lenskart, Reddoorz, Moglix, and Kredivo/ Finaccel, which have subsequently raised follow-on capital of US$1.three billion. As a Principal at Jungle Ventures, Sankrityayan serves because the board member or consultant of 4 portfolio firms, the place he works carefully with the founders on progress technique and fundraising.
Featured Picture Credit score: Forbes