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

MANILA, Philippines – P-pop girl group BINI earned a spot in the 2025 edition of Forbes’ “30 under 30,” a list that recognizes groups and individuals in Asia “with a bold vision for the future.”

Listed under the Entertainment and Sports category, Forbes particularly pointed out the girl group’s impact in the Asian music industry, starting from their world tour that spanned a total of 15 locations and their sold-out concert in the over 50,000-seater Philippine Arena in February.

“Last year, it 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,” the magazine added.

Besides BINI, several other Filipinos landed on the Forbes “30 Under 30” list in different industries: chess Grandmaster Daniel Quizon (Entertainment and Sports), visual artist Renren Galeno (Social Media, Marketing and Advertising), food sustainability advocate Anna Beatriz Suavengco (Social Impact), Team Dugong Bughaw NGO founder Jasper Ruby Vijar (Social Impact), venture capital firm Forge Ventures vice president Ysabel Chua (Finance and Venture Capital), and Kaya Founders managing director Raya Buensuceso (Finance and Venture Capital).

BINI was formed in ABS-CBN’s Star Hunt Academy and debuted in 2021 with members Jhoanna, Mikha, Sheena, Stacey, Colet, Aiah, Gwen, and Maloi. The girls saw a meteoric rise to fame after their song “Pantropiko” went viral. From then on, more of their songs began to debut on the charts, like “Salamin, Salamin,” “Cherry on Top,” and “Blink Twice,” among others.

According to Forbes, the final roster was narrowed down from 4,500 nominations across 20 countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region.

Those who made the cut were determined by different sets of judges, including Kuok Meng Ru, the group CEO and founder of Caldecott Music Group, and Hua Fung Teh, the group president of ONE Championship, for the Entertainment and Sports category.

“Candidates are evaluated by the Forbes Asia team and a panel of independent, expert judges on a variety of factors, including (but not limited to) funding and/or revenue, social and industry impact, product-market fit, inventiveness and potential. All final listers must be 29 or younger as of December 31, 2024,” Forbes said, explaining its methodology.

Other categories include Consumer and Enterprise Technology; AI; Industry, Manufacturing and Energy; Retail and Commerce; The Arts; and Healthcare and Science.

In 2024, there were seven Filipinos who were recognized by Forbes: content creators Arshie Larga and Abigail Marquez; Backscoop founder Amanda Cua; rapper EZ Mil; internet artist and Developh founder Chia Amisola; artist Joshua Serafin, and Parallax co-founder Mikaela Reyes.

Here is the full list of 2025 30 under 30 honorees in Asia. – Rappler.com