Girl power! BINI among Filipinos named in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Class of 2025

The renowned Forbes "30 Under 30" list, which highlights young individuals across Asia making significant impacts, has unveiled its Class of 2025, featuring notable Filipinos. Among the distinguished honorees is the popular P-pop girl group BINI.

BINI earned their spot under the Entertainment and Sports category. Forbes specifically recognized their impressive trajectory, pointing to their recent world tour across 15 locations and their massive sold-out concert at the 50,000-capacity Philippine Arena earlier this year.

The magazine also cited BINI's prior accolades, including the Best Asia Act award at the MTV Europe Music Awards and the Voices of Asia award at Billboard K Power 100's Seoul event. Further cementing their influence, Billboard Philippines named all eight members its Women of the Year after their hit songs collectively garnered over a billion streams on Spotify.

Beyond BINI, several other talented Filipinos were recognized in the 2025 list across various fields. This includes chess Grandmaster Daniel Quizon, also in Entertainment and Sports, and visual artist Renren Galeno under Social Media, Marketing and Advertising. Social Impact honorees include food sustainability advocate Anna Beatriz Suavengco and Team Dugong Bughaw NGO founder Jasper Ruby Vijar. In Finance and Venture Capital, Ysabel Chua, Vice President at Forge Ventures, and Raya Buensuceso, Managing Director at Kaya Founders, were recognized.

Formed through ABS-CBN’s Star Hunt Academy and debuting in 2021, BINI consists of members Jhoanna, Mikha, Sheena, Stacey, Colet, Aiah, Gwen, and Maloi. Their rise to prominence saw a significant boost after their song "Pantropiko" went viral, paving the way for other hits like "Salamin, Salamin," "Cherry on Top," and "Blink Twice" to chart.

Forbes revealed that the final list was curated from a pool of 4,500 nominations spanning 20 countries and territories within the Asia-Pacific region. An independent panel of expert judges evaluated candidates based on criteria such as funding or revenue, social and industry impact, market fit, inventiveness, and potential. All honorees are required to be 29 years old or younger as of December 31, 2024.

The 2025 list features recognition across diverse sectors including Consumer and Enterprise Technology, AI, Industry, Manufacturing and Energy, Retail and Commerce, The Arts, and Healthcare and Science, highlighting innovation and achievement in various domains.

Looking back, the 2024 Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list also featured seven Filipinos, including content creators Arshie Larga and Abigail Marquez, founder Amanda Cua, rapper EZ Mil, artist and founder Chia Amisola, artist Joshua Serafin, and co-founder Mikaela Reyes, showcasing a continued strong presence from the Philippines on this prestigious regional list.