Wadiz Completes Designated Audit and Officially Begins Preparation for Listing

Last Year Sales Up 16% · Operating Loss Down 48%

Funding platform Wadiz announced on the 24th that it will pursue an initial public offering (IPO) within the year, based on improved performance last year.

Wadiz explained that it completed a designated audit in 2023 and officially began preparing for listing by recruiting former KDB Capital President Donghyun Koo and Myongji University Business School Professor Jaegu Kim as outside directors.

Wadiz's transaction amount last year was 237 billion KRW, and sales were 39.7 billion KRW, representing a 16% increase compared to the previous year. Operating losses decreased by 48% year-on-year to 17.3 billion KRW. Since achieving monthly operating profit in November last year, it is expected to return to profitability in the second quarter of this year.

Wadiz cited diversification of its business models, including funding, store, and advertising, as the reason for improved performance. In particular, through growth in the advertising business and expansion of client transactions last year, it achieved qualitative improvement in sales while reducing marketing costs by more than 70%, maintaining steady growth and achieving profitability improvement.

The number of crowdfunding intermediary projects, the main business model, increased by about 60% compared to the previous year, and the number of makers also grew by 33%, showing continuous growth. The monthly projects, which were 1,000 at the beginning of last year, have significantly increased to about 2,000 per month currently. The performance improvement of ‘Wadiz Store’ is also remarkable. A Wadiz official stated, "Despite the intense competition in the e-commerce market, we plan to continue this year’s performance with Wadiz’s differentiated services, not simply focusing on ultra-low prices and discounts."