Charice, Xyza Bacani, 8 others on Forbes ’30 under 30’ Asia list

Charice Pempengco. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Singer Charice Pempengco, acclaimed street photographer Xyza Cruz Bacani and eight other Filipino millennials were included in Forbes’ inaugural “30 under 30” Asia list.

Pempengco, 23, was hailed under the “30 under 30” in the Entertainment and Sports category. The magazine said that she was the second Filipino who earned a spot in the Billboard 100 chart. She was also hailed for the release of her 2010 hit “Pyramid” with Iyaz which topped the Billboard Dance Chart.

A domestic worker-turned-photographer, 29-year-old Bacani became famous with her black and white photos of Hong Kong city life. Forbes said Bacani’s photos have revealed conditions of “domestic workers facing human rights issues.” She won a Magnum Foundation Human Rights Fellows award in 2015.

READ: Filipina maid captures dreams through photography

Other Filipinos who were included on the inaugural list include:

•             Ronson Culibrina, artist, 24, for The Arts
•             LoudBasstard founder Koh Martinez Onozawa, 26, for Retail and E-commerce
•             Cropital founder Rachel de Villa, 23, for Finance and Venture Capital
•             Dating app Peekawoo founder Valenice Balace, 27, for Consumer Tech
•             SALt lamp cofounder Raphael Mijeno, 28, for Social Entrepreneurs
•             Edukasyon.ph founder Henry Motte- Munoz, 28, for Social Entrepreneurs
•             Solar Philippines founder Leandro Leviste, 22, for Manufacturing and Energy; and
•             Amin Hataman, 15, for Healthcare & Science.

Hataman, who is the youngest Filipino on the list and on the Healthcare and Science category, was hailed for her invention of biodegradable bags “made of a coconut by-product” which disintegrates after several days.

Hataman’s invention has reaped several awards which include a bronze medal from the International Sustainable World Energy, Engineering, and Environment Project in 2015 and a gold medal from the International Young Inventor’s Olympiad in 2014.

READ: Pinoy inventor wins in int’l environment tilt

The Forbes’ “30 under 30” Asia list had 10 categories which include: consumer technology, enterprise technology, the arts, healthcare and science, media, social entrepreneurship, finance, industry, retail and manufacturing.

“For months on end, our correspondents from around the region have been looking for the best and brightest 300 millennials who are disrupting and changing the faces of their industries,” the magazine said. AJH