Forbes Asia 100 to Watch 2022

Asia-Pacific's Small Businesses and Startups on the Rise

As Asia-Pacific transitions into post-pandemic mode, the qualities of creativity, resilience and capacity for change shine through in the second Forbes Asia 100 to Watch list. We spotlight 100 small businesses and startups across the region that are tackling real-world challenges with fresh thinking and innovative products and services. These include faster blood tests, more accessible elderly care services and wellness apps to help those struggling with isolation or burnout. Others on our list target climate change, through ultra-durable batteries, for example, and more resilient crops. Some offer fintech solutions to digitize and connect underserved markets. Fifteen countries and territories are represented in 11 categories that include biotech and healthcare, e-commerce and retail, and finance. Singapore's vibrant startup community added 19 companies to the list, followed closely by Hong Kong with 16.

Edited by John Kang and Catherine Wang

Editing assistance and reporting by Yue Wang

Additional reporting by Jayde Cheung, Zinnia Lee, Yessar Rosendar, Simran Vaswani and Ardian Wibisono

METHODOLOGY: To select our 100 things to watch, Forbes Asia solicited online nominations and invited accelerators, incubators, SME advocacy organizations, universities, venture capitalists and others to nominate as well companies. The final 100 were selected from over 650 submissions. To be eligible, companies had to be headquartered in the Asia-Pacific region, be private, for-profit, have no more than $50 million in last annual revenue, and have no more than $100 million. dollars in total funding through August 1. Our team evaluated each submission, looking at metrics such as a positive impact on the region or industry, a history of strong revenue growth or the ability to attract funding, business models or promising markets and a compelling story. The editors reserve the right to remove or replace any company or individual included in a list in light of any new information that would disqualify them from inclusion.

Agrostar India Category: Agriculture Year Established: 2013 • CEO: Shardul Sheth Major Funders: Aavishkaar Capital, Accel, Bertelsmann India Investments, British International Investment, Chiratae Ventures, Evolvence, Hero Enterprise, International Finance Corporation, Rabo Frontier Ventures, Schroders Capital

AgroStar's mission is "to help farmers win" by providing advisory services to improve crop yields and the ability to connect with exporters. It also launched a quality assurance lab in May to test seeds and fertilizers. The startup says its digital network covers over 6.5 million farmers across India and it processes around 70 million data points per month to tailor recommendations. Through the AgroStar app, farmers can ask questions of experienced "AgroDoctors", watch tutorials on topics such as soil quality and network with other farmers. So far, it has raised $96 million in funding.

Pet AI South Korea Category: Biotechnology and Health Year of establishment: 2020 • CEO: Euna Hur

Major Funders: Google for Startups, Industrial Bank of Korea, Korea Asset Investment Securities, Postech Holdings, Shinhan Square Bridge

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