PETALING JAYA: Seven Malaysian youth made it to Forbes’ “30 under 30 Asia” Class of 2021 for being recognised as part of Asia’s top 300 trailblazers and entrepreneurs.
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Among those listed were co-founders of the Undi18 movement, Qyira Yusri and Tharma Pillai, creator of JomStudy free study app Yong Xun Ong, and Kevin Wu, founder of farming startup specialising in edible crickets.
They are among the 300 young millennial and Gen Z leaders chosen by the prominent business magazine under the age of 30 across Asia who have persevered amid the global Covid-19 pandemic.
“Forbes ‘30 under 30 Asia’ Class of 2021 features bright and innovative millennial and Gen Z leaders who have persevered and thrived despite global uncertainty, with 30 honorees selected for each of the 10 categories,” it said in a statement on Tuesday (April 20).
Qyira and Tharma are listed under the “Social Impact” section for championing youth voting rights in Malaysia.
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“Last year, Undi18 organised Parlimen Digital, a youth-led virtual parliamentary sitting to propose recommendations for economic and Covid-19 relief in Malaysia, the first of its kind in the world, which attracted 500,000 livestream views,” it added.
Yong, 21, developed and released JomStudy last June to help students revise when schools were shut down in the country as government efforts were made to flatten the curve of Covid-19 infections.
More than 20,000 students have since downloaded his app.
Former lawyer, Kevin Wu, 26, was recognised by Forbes as a rising entrepreneur for starting a business producing edible crickets after he read a United Nations article proposing insect protein to feed the growing world population.
Meanwhile, three other Malaysians who also made the cut this year are Tan Guan Sheng (founder of creative social media influencer platform Ittify); Jaz Lee (creative director at Ogilvy) and Annice Lyn (co-founder of Women Photographers Malaysia that advocates gender equality in the industry).-The Star