The third annual edition of Forbes Asia’s “100 to Watch” list, which highlights startups and small businesses in the Asia-Pacific area that are on the rise, was published on August 29. On the list, 11 categories—including biotechnology and health care, e-commerce, retail, and finance—are represented by 13 countries and territories. Companies that target underserved markets or use cutting-edge technology, ranging from generative artificial intelligence (AI) to blood-based cancer diagnostics, made the list. The list includes important instances of environmentally concerned innovations, such as developing insect-based protein substitutes and automating milk production to increase productivity.
Forbes Asia relied on online nominations and submissions from industry insiders to construct the 100 to Watch list. The final list of 100 companies was chosen from among the 550 or so entries. Companies had to be privately owned, operate for profit, have an annual turnover under $50 million, have total funding up to $100 million, and have their Asia-Pacific headquarters to be eligible by August 7.
“The businesses on Forbes Asia’s 100 to Watch list this year are a study in resiliency. Funding for startups is becoming more difficult to find due to rising interest rates. The businesses on this year’s list are those that have a good chance of becoming success stories, according to Justin Doebele, editor of Forbes Asia.
With 20 Singaporean enterprises, Singapore stands at the top of the list for the second consecutive year. Following Hong Kong, which has 15 enterprises, are China and Indonesia, both of which have 11. Taiwan, with only one Taiwanese company, is the nation with the fewest companies on the list.
This year, there are six Indian firms on the list, down from 11 in 2022 and 22 in 2021, the largest number of any nation on the list that year. The following Indian businesses are included in the list:
ApnaKlub
Exponent Energy
IDfy
Kaleidofin
RED Health
Stellapps Technologies
This year’s list includes 11 industries, including biotechnology and health care, enterprise technology, food and hospitality, education and recruitment, entertainment and media, agriculture, logistics and transportation, construction and engineering, finance, e-commerce and retail, and consumer technology. The list also includes industries like finance e-commerce and retail.
