Indians in Singapore's List of Forbes 30 under 30

The Forbes 2021 Asia list of 30 under 30, written by Mr. Lee Kah Whye, published in April 2021, includes 76 Indians. These young men and women under the age of 30 are regarded as having the most innovative and courageous minds in their respective fields, and they are making a difference in business and society.

The fact that India's total is greater than that of runners-up China (36) and third-placed Japan (31) combined demonstrates the richness and depth of talent among Indians. Because the country is defined as the destination where these people live, there are more Indians on the list who reside in other cities. Singapore, which ranks fourth on the list with 27 entries, has eight Indians on its list of 31 young revolutionaries. Co-founders from the same company can be two or more people, but they only appear as one entry on the list.

This Asian list, which has been published annually for the last six years, catalogues the 30 entrepreneurial individuals or groups in ten categories who are industry trailblazers. Social impact, the arts, entertainment, and sports, finance and venture capital, healthcare and science, and consumer technology are among these categories.

The eight Indians living in Singapore who made the Forbes 30 under 30 list are as follows:

Mr. Tushar Aggarwal is the founder of Persistence One, a company that uses blockchain technology to facilitate asset transactions like commodity trading and debt financing. It raised US$ 3.7 million last year in a round led by Arrington XRP Capital, a blockchain venture capital firm led by TechCrunch founder Mr. Michael Arrington. Prior to founding Persistence, Mr. Aggarwal was a principal at LuneX Ventures, a blockchain and cryptocurrency fund. He attended The Doon School in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, and graduated from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

 

Ms. Devi Sahny, a former Goldman Sachs investment banker in New York, founded tutoring start-up Ascend Now in 2018. In contrast to the traditional top-down approach, this start-up creates personalised curriculums based on students' preferences. Her company now employs approximately 70 teachers who have tutored over 900 students in Singapore, Indonesia, and India. According to Ms. Sahny, who is also the CEO, revenue was US$ 970,000 last year, a 170% increase over the previous year. She anticipates that revenue will more than double to US$ 2 million in the coming fiscal year. Ms. Sahny received his bachelor's degree from Georgetown University in the United States.

In 2017, Ms. Kenath Priyanka Prasad co-founded Prime Respi to develop airway-clearance therapies for patients with chronic respiratory diseases. The WIND device generates intrapulmonary percussion to loosen mucus, allow patients to use the device at home instead of visiting a healthcare facility for treatment. Although the device has yet to be commercialised, the startup has raised more than US$ 2.6 million in funding from investors such as Singapore government firm SGInnovate. Ms. Prasad received his Ph.D. in bioengineering from Nanyang Technological University.

Along with the Ph.D. supervisor from the National University of Singapore, Prof. Manoj Gupta, Mr. Vyasaraj Manakari and Mr. Gururaj Parande co-founded med-tech start-up Magloy Tech. The OrthoMag product, which is made of a biocompatible magnesium alloy, is a novel bone implant that dissolves in the body eventually. Since traditional implants made of steel or titanium would involve a second surgical removal after the bone healed, the innovation could reduce risk and recovery time for patients. Origin Ventures and Singapore's Start-up SG Tech are among the investors who have contributed to the start-funding. Previously, they both worked at the German firm Bosh Engineering and Business Solutions in Bengaluru.

Split was co-founded by Mr. Vishvesh Suriyanarayanan and Mr. Dylan Tan. The company began as a travel payment company but then was rushed to pivot due to COVID-19. Split has grown into a leading buy-now-pay-later provider for e-commerce and retail in Malaysia and Singapore, enabling clients such as Dyson and Lego to embrace interest-free instalment payments from customers. They have enrolled 300 brands and generated US$ 4 million in sales since April 2020. The venture capital fund 500 Start-ups and angel investors, including AccorHotels Asia Pacific's former deputy CEO Mr. Louise Daley, contributed approximately US$ 1 million to the company. Mr. Suryanarayana is an engineering graduate of Amrita Schools of Engineering.

Mr. Vardhan Kapoor is the APAC Head of Remitly, a money-transfer platform. The Seattle-based start-up, which was named to the Forbes Fintech list in 2018 and 2019, raised US$ 85 million in 2020, increasing its valuation to US$ 1.5 billion. Mr. Kapoor's research on the impact of technology on society was named a finalist for the Financial Times and McKinsey's 2019 Bracken Bower Prize for the best business book under 35.

Ms. Priyageetha Dia is a Singaporean artist who grew up in the city-state. Her interdisciplinary art practise explores identity and self-representation, the impact of illustration through image-making and tech culture, and the social function of the public sphere. She first made headlines in 2017 with her artwork, "Golden Staircase," in which she covered an entire flight of stairs in a public housing building in gold foil. In Singapore, it prompted a hot debate about the role of public art and its connection to governance and authority. A year later, she launched another viral setup, "Golden Flags." Ms. Dia was awarded the IMPART Artist Award by Art Outreach Singapore in 2019, and her work has been shown at the Art Science Museum and the National Gallery.

However, after careful consideration, Mr. Harsh Dalal, 19-year-old Indian CEO of Singapore tech firm Team Labs, was dropped out from the Forbes 30 under 30 list.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.