Three Filipino companies have been named in Forbes Asia’s 2024 "100 to Watch" list, highlighting rising small businesses and startups throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
Forbes Asia recognized Philippine companies Lista and Zed, both in the finance industry and Mober, a firm in the construction and logistics sectors.
Lista, founded in 2021, is a financial app designed to assist individuals and small businesses in managing their finances. Under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Aaron Villegas, Lista enables users to track spending habits and cash flow while providing alerts for upcoming bills. The app has already garnered some traction locally, with over 2.5 million downloads and more than $5 million in funding. The company generates 75 percent of its revenue from selling credit scores to consumers, with the remainder coming from referral fees from financial institutions.
Meanwhile, Zed, established in 2020 and led by CEO Danielle Cojuangco Abraham, is the country’s first neobank. After obtaining a license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Zed launched its credit card service. Rather than charging interest or annual fees, the company collects a share of the network fees paid by merchants for each transaction. In March, Zed raised $6 million in seed funding, led by Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures.
Lastly, Mober, founded in 2018 and headed by CEO Dennis Ng, operates a fleet of electric vehicles to support businesses in achieving their sustainability goals for last-mile delivery. The company aims to expand its fleet from 60 to 238 electric trucks by early 2025. Mober's clientele includes well-known brands such as IKEA, global logistics firm Kuehne+Nagel, and Philippine food producer Monde Nissin. In June, Singapore-based Clime Capital invested $6 million to support fleet expansion and the development of a 3,000-square-meter charging facility in Pasay City.
This year’s list features companies from 16 countries and territories across 10 industries, including enterprise technology, robotics, finance, manufacturing, and energy.
India leads the way with the largest representation, boasting 20 companies, followed by Singapore with 15, mainland China with 10, Japan with nine, and Indonesia with eight.
“Startups on our fourth annual Forbes Asia 100 To Watch list have collectively drawn over $2 billion in total funding to date, with 83 of these companies raising capital since the start of 2023,” Rana Wehbe Watson, Forbes Asia editorial director/special projects, said.
“This influx of investment was driven by their innovations, spanning some of the world’s hottest industries such as spacetech, biotech and robotics. Their ambition and achievements thus far paint a positive picture for the future of Asia-Pacific’s startup ecosystem,” he added.
Forbes Asia compiled the "100 to Watch" list by soliciting online submissions and inviting nominations from accelerators, incubators, universities, venture capitalists, and other industry stakeholders.
To qualify, companies needed to be privately owned for-profit ventures based in the Asia-Pacific region, with annual revenues not exceeding $50 million and total funding capped at $100 million as of August 7.
Editors at Forbes Asia assessed each submission based on several criteria, including the company’s industry impact, market fit, innovative business model, track record of revenue growth, and funding potential.
Article by the Manila Bulletin, August 27, 2024
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