24 in Singapore make it to Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list

S'pore in 5th spot for most people in ranking of young disruptors, innovators and entrepreneurs

Paralympic swimmer Yip Pin Xiu, who competes in the backstroke and owns two world records, made the list. Others from Singapore who also made the cut included (clockwise from top right) Chope COO Dinesh Balasingam; Joytingle founder Esther Wang; Voya
Above: Paralympic swimmer Yip Pin Xiu, who competes in the backstroke and owns two world records, made the list. ST FILE PHOTO
Paralympic swimmer Yip Pin Xiu, who competes in the backstroke and owns two world records, made the list. Others from Singapore who also made the cut included (clockwise from top right) Chope COO Dinesh Balasingam; Joytingle founder Esther Wang; Voya
Others from Singapore who also made the cut included Chope COO Dinesh Balasingam ST FILE PHOTO
Paralympic swimmer Yip Pin Xiu, who competes in the backstroke and owns two world records, made the list. Others from Singapore who also made the cut included (clockwise from top right) Chope COO Dinesh Balasingam; Joytingle founder Esther Wang; Voya
Others from Singapore who also made the cut included Joytingle founder Esther Wang. ST FILE PHOTO
Others from Singapore who also made the cut included Voyagin COO Tushar Khandelwal. PHOTO: VOYAGIN
Paralympic swimmer Yip Pin Xiu, who competes in the backstroke and owns two world records, made the list. Others from Singapore who also made the cut included (clockwise from top right) Chope COO Dinesh Balasingam; Joytingle founder Esther Wang; Voya
Others from Singapore who also made the cut included Mr Ian Ang and Mr Alaric Choo of Secretlab. ST FILE PHOTO
Paralympic swimmer Yip Pin Xiu, who competes in the backstroke and owns two world records, made the list. Others from Singapore who also made the cut included (clockwise from top right) Chope COO Dinesh Balasingam; Joytingle founder Esther Wang; Voya
Others from Singapore who also made the cut included (above) Ms Shanru Lai and Ms Josephine Chow of ShopBack. ST FILE PHOTO
Paralympic swimmer Yip Pin Xiu, who competes in the backstroke and owns two world records, made the list. Others from Singapore who also made the cut included (clockwise from top right) Chope COO Dinesh Balasingam; Joytingle founder Esther Wang; Voya
Others from Singapore who also made the cut included Ms Shanru Lai and Ms Josephine Chow (above) of ShopBack. ST FILE PHOTO
Paralympic swimmer Yip Pin Xiu, who competes in the backstroke and owns two world records, made the list. Others from Singapore who also made the cut included (clockwise from top right) Chope COO Dinesh Balasingam; Joytingle founder Esther Wang; Voya
Others from Singapore who also made the cut included Electrify founder Julius Tan ST FILE PHOTO
Paralympic swimmer Yip Pin Xiu, who competes in the backstroke and owns two world records, made the list. Others from Singapore who also made the cut included (clockwise from top right) Chope COO Dinesh Balasingam; Joytingle founder Esther Wang; Voya
Others from Singapore who also made the cut included Mighty Jaxx founder Jackson Aw ST FILE PHOTO
Paralympic swimmer Yip Pin Xiu, who competes in the backstroke and owns two world records, made the list. Others from Singapore who also made the cut included (clockwise from top right) Chope COO Dinesh Balasingam; Joytingle founder Esther Wang; Voya
Others from Singapore who also made the cut included Kapap Academy's Qin Yunquan. The 24 picked here were selected across nine categories. ST FILE PHOTO

A league table that ranks 300 young disruptors, innovators and entrepreneurs across Asia has included 24 from Singapore.

It lists 30 people under age 30 in 10 categories, each vetted and selected by a panel of accomplished judges, said Forbes magazine, which compiled the 30 Under 30 Asia ranking.

Singapore tied with Japan for the fifth-highest number of people in the list this year. The 24 picked here were selected across nine categories. They include Chope chief operating officer Dinesh Balasingam, who was selected under the consumer technology category.

Ms Esther Wang, founder of healthcare education start-up Joytingle, was in the healthcare and science category. Her firm specialises in child life programmes, patient engagement, paediatric education and hospital play speciality.

In the retail and e-commerce category, Mr Tushar Khandelwal, COO and co-founder of online travel and activity platform Voyagin, was selected. Voyagin, which was acquired by Rakuten in 2015, makes activity suggestions, provides guest reviews and helps digital-savvy travellers with bookings.

Others selected in this category include Mr Ian Ang and Mr Alaric Choo of Secretlab, and Ms Shanru Lai and Ms Josephine Chow of ShopBack.

Mr Julius Tan, founder of energy retail marketplace Electrify, made the list in the industry, manufacturing and energy category. It has facilitated US$3.8 million (S$5 million) worth of transactions since March last year.

The arts category included Mr Jackson Aw of design studio Mighty Jaxx. He started the studio in 2012 with a $20,000 loan. It has since worked with artists as well as international brands such as DC Comics and New Balance to create collectible sculptures.

Among social entrepreneurs, Kapap Academy's Qin Yunquan was included in the list for her efforts to empower ordinary people with realistic self-defence training.

Local Paralympic swimmer Yip Pin Xiu also made the list. Ms Yip, who competes in the backstroke, is a three-time Paralympic gold medallist and a one-time International Paralympic Committee gold medallist, with two world records to her name.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 28, 2018, with the headline 24 in Singapore make it to Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list. Subscribe