KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 — A total of 11 Malaysians from nine companies made it onto Forbes’ fourth annual “30 Under 30” list of 300 disruptors, innovators and entrepreneurs below 30 years’ of age across the Asia-Pacific region.

They are Bobby Ong and TM Lee, co-founders of CoinGecko; Sarah Chen, co-founder of The Billion Dollar Fund for Women; Aaron Patel, chief executive of iHandal Energy Solutions; Kendrick Wong, chief executive of Omnilytics; and Chris Khristie and Michelle Tan, co-founders of INFLUASIA.

“The Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list this year highlights daring entrepreneurs who are building businesses mostly to solve problems in their industries,” said Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Editor, Rana Wehbe.

Malaysia’s showing on the list was lower than last year’s edition, however, in which 13 from the country were chosen.

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Encompassing a diverse set of 30 honourees from 10 different industries — ranging from the arts to social entrepreneurs and consumer technology — the 300 young talents were selected from 23 countries and territories.

They were chosen from over 2,000 submissions made online and listed through in-house research by Forbes’ journalists from the region.

Forbes said those on the list were chosen for challenging conventional wisdom and rewriting the rules for the next generation.

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“The criteria for honourees making the list include their demonstration of leadership, how they embody the entrepreneurial spirit that is synonymous with Forbes, and their potential for success in their industry.

“Other factors like innovation, disruption — and size and growth of their ventures in some categories — play a role in making the final decision,” added the business magazine.

Of the source countries, China topped the list with 61 honourees, followed by India and Japan, with 59 and 30, respectively.

South Korea and Singapore were next with 28 and 23 honourees on the list, respectively.

Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Laos all made debuts on this year’s list.

Wehbe also noted that the majority on the list were startup founders working with technology to deliver specific sustainable and even life-saving services.

“Forming 70 per cent of the 2019 list, startup founders are using technologies like AI, Big Data and Blockchain to facilitate processes such as matching patients with potentially life-saving medical trials and providing enterprise solutions for SMEs who form the vast majority of businesses in the APAC region,” said Wehbe.

*Editor’s note: An earlier version stated nine instead of 11 Malayisans. A publicist for Forbes has since clarified that the confusion arose from the number of individuals and companies listed.