Nine PH firms make it to Forbes Asia’s '100 to Watch' List

Nine Philippine companies were included in Forbes Asia’s third annual '100 to Watch’ list, which highlights small firms and startups on the rise across the Asia-Pacific region with up to $50 million in latest annual revenue and up to $100 million in total funding.

According to Forbes, this year’s list puts a spotlight on small companies and startups that cater to "underserved markets" or implement new technologies in their respective fields.

“Companies on this year’s Forbes Asia’s 100 to Watch list are a study in resilience. With rising interest rates, funding is harder to come by for startups,” Forbes Asia editor Justin Doebele said in a statement.

“The companies on this year’s list therefore represent those with strong prospects to become success stories,” he added.

Forbes said the listees were selected from over 550 submissions, taking into consideration their positive impact on the region of industry, their track record of revenue growth or ability to attract funding, their business models or markets, and their stories.

There were 13 countries represented in the list, led by Singapore with 20 companies, followed by Hong Kong with 15, and mainland China and Indonesia with 11 each.

Below are the listees from the Philippines:

Edamama
Category: E-commerce & Retail
Year founded: 2020 • CEO: Bela Gupta D'Souza
Key backers: Alpha JWC Ventures, Foxmont Capital Partners, Gentree Fund, InnoVen Capital, Kickstart Ventures, Robinsons Retail Holdings
Targeting parents in the Philippines, Edamama’s e-commerce platform offers baby gear, home goods, and other lifestyle products. Users on Edamama’s website or app can browse 1,500 brands and 26,700 products, according to the startup. To date, the startup has raised over $35 million in funding, and it launched an offline store in March.

Kindred
Category: Biotechnology & Healthcare
Year founded: 2022 • CEO: Jessica de Mesa-Lim
Key backers: KSR Ventures, Pawikan Capital Group, Pulse 63 Healthcare Ventures, Tenco Capital Holdings, Zobel Group
Women’s health startup Kindred provides virtual and in-person clinical consultations to women in the Philippines. Patients can make appointments through Kindred’s website or app for specialties including gynecology, psychological health, fertility care, and vaccinations against sexually transmitted diseases. The startup claims its platform spans 80 doctors, and it’s completed 12,000 transactions to date.

Kraver’s Canteen
Category: Food & Hospitality
Year founded: 2020 • CEO: Victor Seunglee Lim
Key backers: Foxmont Capital Partners, Kaya Founders, Oak Drive Ventures, Quest Ventures
Based in Manila, Kraver’s Canteen is a cloud kitchen operator with 11 facilities. It claims to offer over 1,000 meal options with ingredient transparency and nutrition breakdowns. Users can pre-order meal plans up to 12 weeks in advance. To date, Kraver’s Canteen has secured $4.5 million in funding.

Packworks
Category: E-commerce & Retail
Year founded: 2018 • CEO: Bing Tan
Key backers: ADB Ventures, Arise, CVC Capital Partners, Fast Group, IdeaSpace Foundation, Techstars
Packworks’ inventory management platform helps owners of small convenience stores, known as “sari-sari” stores, collect sales data, record prices and more. Based in Manila, Packworks works with over 270,000 businesses, according to the startup. It says it has raised a total of $2.2 million.

Peddlr
Category: Enterprise Technology
Year founded: 2021 • CEO: Nel Laygo
Key backers: 500 Global, Crestone Venture Capital, Foxmont Capital Partners, January Capital, Kaya Founders, KDV Capital, NordStar Capital, Patamar Capital, Vulpes Ventures, XA Network
Peddlr provides a point-of-sale application for micro, small, and midsized businesses to help them manage sales and expenses. Using Peddlr’s website or app, businesses can track inventory, produce basic accounting reports, and create a basic online storefront. The startup has raised a total of $4.9 million.

SariSuki
Category: Agriculture
Year founded: 2021 • CEO: Brian Cu
Key backers: Credit Saison, Foxmont Capital Partners, Global Founders Capital, Kickstart Ventures, Openspace Ventures, JG Digital Equity Ventures, Susquehanna International Group
Social e-commerce startup SariSuki sells groceries through its website and app, aiming to transform the Philippines’ retail landscape. Customers can register for an account to order fresh produce from local farms, which are distributed through Sarisuki’s designated resellers. The startup claims it’s garnered a total of $30 million in funding and served more than 800,000 customers.

Shoppable Business
Category: E-commerce & Retail
Year founded: 2022 • CEO: Carlo Silva
Key backers: AHG Lab, Foxmont Capital Partners, Seedstars
Shoppable Business aims to help businesses in the Philippines procure branded products by verifying their authenticity. The startup works with over 1,400 suppliers—spanning brands like Samsung, Adidas, and Apple—and over 300 buyer companies, it says. Shoppable raised $1.2 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Philippines-based Foxmont Capital Partners and Switzerland-based Seedstars.

Sprout Solutions
Category: Enterprise Technology
Year founded: 2015 • CEO: Patrick Gentry
Key backers: Acceleprise, AFG Partners, Beenext, BridgeSEA Capital, Cercano Ventures, Endeavor, EM Ventures, GSR Ventures, Integra Partners, Kickstart Ventures, Mynavi, Point72, Wavemaker Partners
Sprout Solutions, a Manila-headquartered SaaS startup, provides cloud-based HR technology for Philippine businesses. The startup claims its website and app support payroll automation and data-driven analytics for employers and help them distribute salary advances for employees. It recently secured a $10.7 million series B funding round led by Cercano Ventures.

TANGGapp
Category: Finance
Year founded: 2020 • CEO: Rebecca Kersch
Key backers: Bolster Ventures, Foxmont Capital Partners, Goodwater, TEN13, Visible Hands
TANGGapp, an online P2P payments startup, facilitates international remittances from the U.S. to the Philippines. Users can sync their phone numbers with their TANGGApp account, allowing them to send and receive money from their other phone contacts. The startup claims its payment volumes have grown by 25 times since it launched three years ago.

—VAL, GMA Integrated News