22 Indians firms included in Forbes Asia's inaugural '100 to Watch' list

 Agriculture startup Aquaconnect, BeatO (biotech and healthcare), Bellatrix Aerospace (logistics and transportation), Betterplace (education and recruitment) are among the Indian firms on the list

As many as 22 Indian firms in industries as diverse as healthcare, education, and eCommerce have been included in Forbes Asia's inaugural '100 to Watch' list, the business magazine said on Tuesday.

The list highlights small companies and startups "on the rise across” the Asia-Pacific region.” Agriculture startup Aquaconnect, BeatO (biotech and healthcare), Bellatrix Aerospace (logistics and transportation), Betterplace (education and recruitment), and Captain Fresh (eCommerce and retail) are among Indian companies in the list.

The list represents 17 countries and territories across the Asia-Pacific region, and also includes startup communities in Singapore and Hong Kong producing 19 and 10 companies, respectively. Indonesia has eight companies on the list.

“Companies on the 100 to Watch list are making remarkable progress and impact in spite of the challenging climate brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. Their inclusion on the list comes in part from addressing significant problems with innovative solutions,” said Justin Doebele, Editor, Forbes Asia.

For the selection of the 100 to Watch list, Forbes Asia solicited online submissions and invited accelerators, incubators, SME advocacy organizations, universities, venture capitalists, and others to nominate companies as well. The final 100 were selected from over 900 submissions. To qualify for consideration, companies had to be headquartered in the Asia-Pacific region, be at least one year old, privately owned, for-profit, and have no more than $20 million in its latest annual revenue or total funding through August 1.

Forbes Asia editors evaluated each submission, looking at metrics such as a positive impact on the region or industry, a track record of strong revenue growth or ability to attract funding, promising business models or markets, and a persuasive story.