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BINI leads 5 Filipinos in Forbes' latest "30 Under 30 Asia" list - Manila Bulletin

Published 9 hours ago3 minute read

The Philippines’ pop sensation BINI leads five Filipinos highlighted in Forbes Asia’s 10th annual edition of its “30 Under 30 Asia” list which features 300 young entrepreneurs, leaders and innovators across the Asia-Pacific region, all under the age of 30.

Those who made it to the list stand out for their bold vision for the future, that is largely powered by artificial intelligence.

Aside from BINI, other Filipinos in the list are visual artist Renren Galeno, venture capitalists Raya Buensuseco and Ysabel Chua, and chess prodigy Daniel Quizon.

BINI, the eight-girl pop sensation, short for “binibini”—or young woman in Tagalog—is the brainchild of Philippine media company ABS-CBN Corporation, which, inspired by the global popularity of South Korean girl groups.

Its members are:Gweneth Apuli (Gwen), 21; Maraiah Queen Arceta (Aiah), 23; Sheena Mae Catacutan, 20; Mikhaela Janna Lim (Mikha), 21; Mary Loi Yues Ricalde (Maloi), 22; Jhoanna Chritine Robles, 20; Stacey Aubrey Sevilleja, 21; and Nicolette Vergara (Colet), 23. They were selected in 2019 from 250 aspirants following a nationwide talent search.

Last year, BINI won Best Asia Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards and Billboard K Power 100’s Voices of Asia award at its Seoul event. In March, Billboard Philippines named the eight members its Women of the Year as their top songs surpassed a billion streams on Spotify.

Meanwhile, Galeno illustrated the 2024 Pulitzer Prize finalist in illustrated reporting and commentary, “Searching for Maura,” for the Washington Post, which recounted an incident of injustice suffered by a group of Filipinos at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis.

Her first book, Sa Wala (Nothing to Lose), won a 2024 National Book Award for Best Graphic Novel in English. A magna cum laude fine arts graduate from the University of the Philippines Diliman, she also contributed to the U.K.-funded climate change comic anthology Ten Years to Save the World.

Buensuceso is managing director of Kaya Founders, which invests in early-stage startups in the Philippines and across Southeast Asia. With over 50 investments, Kaya Founders says it has $29 million in total assets under management.

Since its launch in 2021, Buensuceso says she has been involved in every aspect of Kaya’s operations, including research, marketing, strategy and investments. She graduated from Princeton University with a bachelor’s degree in economics.

Chua is a vice president at Singapore-based VC firm Forge Ventures, which has a portfolio of 16 companies. She joined in 2022 as an associate and was the firm's first employee.

Since then, Chua has overseen five investments, including in Indonesian supply chain startup Baskit and food startup Prefer. She was previously chief of staff at Philippine fintech startup PayMongo, and a senior product manager at Southeast Asian e-commerce giant Shopee.

Quizon became Philippine's latest Grandmaster at 20 when he beat Igor Efimov, 64, during the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Hungary last September. He has been the reigning Philippine Chess Champion since 2021.

He was undefeated in the ASEAN+ Age Group Chess Championships 2023 and dominated the Hanoi Grandmaster Chess Tournament in March 2024. Quizon has a FIDE rating of 2461 in standard chess, 2317 in rapid and 2394 in blitz.

The Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Class of 2025 features 300 notable listees selected across 10 categories, including AI; Consumer & Enterprise Technology; Entertainment & Sports; Finance & Venture Capital; Healthcare & Science; Industry, Manufacturing & Energy; Retail & Ecommerce; Social Impact; Social Media, Marketing & Advertising and The Arts (Art & Style, Food & Drink).

The Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list can be found at: https://www.forbes.com/30-under-30/2025/asia/

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