Seven Filipinos in the ninth edition of Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia
Seven Filipinos made it to the ninth edition of the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list.
All three hundred innovators in the 2024 edition are described by the global media company as “leading the transformation of industries and finding innovative ways to navigate new business realities.”
Entertainment and Sports
Ezekiel Miller | 25 | Rapper
Ezekiel Miller, better known as Ez Mil, is one of the few artists to have been directly signed to the three labels Shady Records/Aftermath Entertainment/Interscope Records owned by rappers Eminem and Dr. Dre. The former also performed on Ez Mil’s 2023 album “DU4LI7Y: REDUX.”
Finance and Venture Capital
Mikaela Helene Reyes | 29 | Co-founder, Parallax
Mikaela Reyes launched Parallax, a cross-border payment startup, after experiencing the challenges of getting paid from another country as a freelancer. Initially targeting users from the Philippines, the company now has customers from over 150 countries.
Parallax raised $4.5 million in a September 2023 seed funding round led by Dragonfly Capital.
The Arts
Joshua Serafin | 28 | Artist
Joshua Serafin is a Brussels-based Filipino artist who was invited to participate in the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024. Mr. Serafin combines dance, music, and theatre with live performance, exploring concepts of cultural identity, transmigration, and queer representation.
Mr. Serafin is also a permanent house artist at Belgium’s Viernulvier arts center.
Media, Marketing and Advertising
Chia Amisola | 23 | Artist
Chia Amisola is a Filipino internet artist whose work has been recognized by publications like the New Yorker and has been exhibited in Berlin, San Francisco, London, Manila, and Toronto.
She is also founder of Developh, which engages in new media arts and oversees the Philippine Internet Archive that aims to preserve “digital work, movements, cultures, and art.”
Amanda Cua | 21 | Founder, Backscoop
Backscoop is a newsletter on the startup scene that Ms. Cua founded after realizing it was hard to keep up with news about tech and startups in Southeast Asia.
Ms. Cua says her updates and One More Scoop podcast helped startup founders find investors.
Abigail Marquez | 23 | Content creator
Although she was given the title Lumpia Queen for her obsession with the Filipino fried spring roll, Abigail Marquez also promotes all aspects of her country’s food culture.
The chef-trained Ms. Marquez runs a cooking channel on TikTok with more than 3 million followers and has won TikTok’s Creator of the Year for Food award in 2023.
Ramon Christian Larga | 27 | Content creator
Ramon Christian Larga, also known as Arshie Larga, teaches about safe medicine use to his 4 million followers on TikTok, with videos sharing his experience and explaining how an ethical pharmacist helps take care of customers.
A licensed pharmacist, Mr. Larga also fundraises on social media to pay the pharmaceutical bills of customers who can’t afford them.
He won TikTok Philippines’ award for best educational content creator in 2023. – Patricia B. Mirasol