Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 2) — Champion athlete Carlos Edriel Yulo and startup co-founder Francis Plaza were among the “best talents” and innovative leaders named by Forbes magazine in its prestigious “30 Under 30” list for Asia this year.
The 20-year-old Yulo from Manila was recognized for being the first-ever male athlete from Southeast Asia to win gold at the 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships held in Germany. He went on to bag podium finishes for the sport during the 30th Southeast Asian Games held in the Philippines, and is set to represent the country in the Tokyo Olympics.
Margielyn Didal, 20, was also among the region’s sports icons featured on the list. She raised the Philippine flag for winning a gold medal for street skateboarding in the 2018 Asian Games, followed by successive wins in the 2019 SEA Games.
The global magazine said 300 inspirational youth leaders and industry game-changers in the region have been selected from over 3,500 nominations this year, vetted by a panel of A-list judges.
Two homegrown entrepreneurs have also been recognized for their trailblazing work in their respective fields.
The Cacao Project founder Louise Emmanuelle Mabulo has been acknowledged for her moves towards sustainable farming. At 21, she has helped more than 200 farmers plant some 80,000 trees while maintaining stable harvests and soil fertility.
Plaza, the 26-year-old co-founder of PayMongo, was honored for his online payments startup. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was a software engineer abroad before returning home and building his seed-funded company.
Davao-based filmmaker and digital artist Breech Asher Harani, 28, also made the list for Alexandrite Pictures, a studio producing works that explore issues on diversity, migration, environment and culture, Forbes said.
Across the region, among those acknowledged were K-pop girl group Twice and Korean actress Park So-dam, who portrayed the female tutor in the Oscar-winning movie “Parasite.” Malaysia’s Nor “Phoenix” Diana, 20, also broke stereotypes by being the first hijab-wearing professional female wrestler.
