Wadiz

{{Short description|South Korean crowdfunding platform}}

{{COI|date=April 2025}}

{{Company

| industry = Crowdfunding

| founded = May 1, 2012; 12 years ago

| hq_location = Seongnam, South Korea

| website = {{URL|www.wadiz.kr/web/main}}

}}

Wadiz (founded in 2012) is a crowdfunding platform based in South Korea. It allows startups and small and medium-sized companies to look for early-stage fundraising and introduces investors and consumers to products and brands.{{Cite journal |last=Lee;Kim |first=Hyowon;Sangmin |date=2020 |title=시민적 크라우드 펀딩의 성공 요인: 비영리조직의 '와디즈' 이용 사례 분석 |url=https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART002654989 |journal=시민사회와 NGO |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=124 |via=KCI}} The platform has various categories, including technology, beauty, fashion, music, character goods, pets, food, books, children's products, games, comics, and travel. Site users can contribute financially to the projects within these categories.

Starting with crowdfunding, Wadiz has expanded its business into pre-orders and Wadiz commerce Store.{{Cite web |date=2025-03-19 |title=와디즈, 영국 FT '아시아태평양 고성장 기업' 4번째 선정 |url=https://www.mk.co.kr/news/business/11267991 |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=매일경제 |language=ko}} In 2024, the platform surpassed 1.3 trillion KRW in cumulative transactions and reached 80,000 crowdfunding projects.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

Recently, Wadiz has been named to the Financial Times{{'s}} (FT) "Asia-Pacific High-Growth Companies 2025" list.{{Cite news |date=2025-03-18 |title=FT ranking: High-Growth Companies Asia-Pacific 2025 |url=https://www.ft.com/content/98982fa6-e6cc-4e3d-85b6-fce9adc50252 |access-date=2025-04-04 |work=Financial Times}} This marks Wadiz's fourth year on the list, after being selected for three straight years from 2020 to 2022.

Wadiz also supports the overseas expansion of companies that have succeeded in crowdfunding. By establishing MOUs with platforms like Makuake in Japan and Zeczec in Taiwan, Wadiz assists domestically crowdfunded products in entering overseas crowdfunding markets.{{Cite journal |last=Lee;Kwon |first=Jung Ho;Hajin |date=29 February 2020 |title=Development of Fashion Product Entrepreneurship Education Process for Crowdfunding (Part I) -Focusing on Wadiz Rewards-based Crowdfunding- |url=https://koreascience.kr/article/JAKO202010060597447.page |journal=Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles |volume=44 |pages=179 |doi=10.5850/JKSCT.2020.44.1.175 |via=KoreaScience}}