WADe India

What WADe India does

WADe India operates THE WADE ASIA, an event-driven platform founded in 2016 by Verticaa Dvivedi and Madhurima Chowdhury under the parent entity Bigsea Marcom (I) Pvt. Ltd. The company is structured around large-scale annual physical events, design competitions, and a B2B trade exhibition, with no proprietary technology stack—its offering is delivered through venue-based activations, an online application portal, and associated media (Surfaces Reporter magazine and the 2024 book 'The Top Angle'). Its core products comprise THE WADE ASIA Awards & Conference (the flagship national event), the MATECIA Exhibition (a building-materials trade show), the ArchiDesign National Competition and SheDesigns Competition (women-only design contests), and concurrent events including the India Furniture Conclave, India Interior Retailing conference, Materials Adda, Design Galore, and the DESIGNS INDIA Architecture Conference.

The platform serves a dual audience: on the persona side, women architects, interior designers, lighting designers, students, and artists seeking visibility, recognition, and mentorship; on the B2B side, building-materials manufacturers, surface brands, hardware companies, dealers, and retailers (exhibitors include Hettich, Kajaria, Greenpanel, Greenply, CP Veneers, Fenesta, Virgo Group, Lingel Windows, Livspace, and 300+ others). Revenue is generated through four streams: exhibition booth rentals and participation fees (transaction fees), corporate sponsorships from material brands and category partners (advertising), competition/conference registrations (largely freemium), and media/publication revenue via the Surfaces Reporter ecosystem. Pricing for participation in the women-only design competitions is free across all categories, while the published book retails at INR 550 (paperback) / INR 700 (hardcover) with a pre-order price of INR 370.

The business is geographically concentrated in India but has begun a deliberate hub-and-spoke expansion, launching regional MATECIA editions in Bengaluru (Southern India, February 2025) and Kolkata (East & Northeast India, May 2026) beyond the flagship New Delhi event. By 2025, the platform had attracted 55,000+ visitors from 600+ towns and 14 countries, accumulated 37,000+ project submissions since founding, and grown MATECIA from 9,000 sqft to 1 lac+ sqft. The company is bootstrapped with no external institutional funding, family-led by the Dvivedi/Chowdhury sisters, and has built its competitive position through category creation (world's first women-centric design platform), venue partnerships with premier Indian convention infrastructure (Yashobhoomi, BIEC, Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan), and alliances with industry bodies including NAREDCO, IIID, ISOLA, GRIHA, and the EU-India Chamber of Commerce.

Name

WADe India

Legal name

Bigsea Marcom (I) Pvt. Ltd.

Website

https://wadeasia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

WADe India (THE WADE ASIA) is a New Delhi-based events and awards platform founded in 2016 that operates India's largest annual gathering dedicated to women in architecture, interior design, arts, and construction, supplemented by the MATECIA B2B building-materials exhibition serving manufacturers, architects, and dealers across multiple regional editions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architecture & Design Trade Events

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131), Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (7114)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Event Rentals (Tents, Furniture, A/V, Decor) (HSACAAAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Trade Show & Exhibition Marketing (Booth Design/Build) (MPAAAGAC)

Keywords

• Architecture awards platform
• Design exhibition services
• Building materials trade shows
• Women in design events
• Interior design conferences

Headquarters

HQ city

New Delhi

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Exhibition and Event Participation Fees: Revenue generated from exhibitors and brands who pay to participate in MATECIA Exhibition and WADE ASIA events. Companies book booth spaces to showcase their products to architects and interior designers.
2. Sponsorship and Partnership Revenue: Corporate sponsorships from brands in the building materials, furniture, and design industry. Companies sponsor various event segments, categories, and networking activities.
3. Competition and Conference Registrations: Registration fees for participants in the WADE Awards competition, ArchiDesign National Competition, and conference attendance. Some categories are free while others may have nominal fees.
4. Media and Publication Revenue: Associated with Surfaces Reporter magazine and related publications, generating content revenue from the architecture and design community.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

WADe India (THE WADE ASIA) operates a large-scale annual events and awards platform celebrating women-led development in architecture, interior design, arts, construction, and engineering. Its flagship offerings include the WADE ASIA Awards & Conference, the MATECIA building-materials trade exhibition, and multiple concurrent design competitions and conclaves (ArchiDesign, SheDesigns, India Furniture Conclave, India Interior Retailing, Materials Adda, Design Galore, DESIGNS INDIA Architecture Conference). The platform primarily monetizes through exhibitor booth fees and corporate sponsorships from building-materials brands seeking access to architects and interior designers as specifiers.

Product overview

WADe India (THE WADE ASIA) operates as a multi-product event and awards platform, not a traditional software company. The core offering comprises THE WADE ASIA Awards & Conference—the flagship annual event celebrating women in architecture and design—alongside the MATECIA Exhibition, a major business-to-business trade show for building materials. Supporting concurrent events include the ArchiDesign National Competition (largest women-centric design competition globally), SheDesigns National Competition, India Furniture Conclave, India Interior Retailing Conference, Materials Adda, Design Galore showcase, and DESIGNS INDIA Architecture Conference. The company also published "The Top Angle" book in 2024. These products collectively form an ecosystem for recognizing women in design, facilitating industry connections, and driving business interactions between architects/designers and material brands.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers13 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Biswa Bangla Mela PranganminorOthers · 30 May 2026Venue partner for MATECIA East & Northeast India exhibition in Kolkata. Iconic venue hosting the landmark architecture and design gathering.
• Merino GroupcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 21 August 2025Presenting Partner for THE WADE ASIA Architecture Conference. Merino leadership actively participated in the inaugural session with welcome address by Director-Sales Manoj Lohia. The partnership involves keynote sessions and thought leadership at the event.
• DorsetcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 21 August 2025Key sponsor with Director Saurabh Bansal delivering special address at the conference. Partnership for industry engagement and brand visibility.
• India Vision FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 August 2025Memorandum of Understanding signed for social impact initiative. WADE pledged to provide uninterrupted financial support to 5 girls for 10 years through this foundation.
• BIEC (Bengaluru International Exhibition Centre)minorOthers · 21 February 2025Venue partner for MATECIA Southern India 2025 exhibition. Provided 1,50,000 sq ft exhibition space for the inaugural Southern India edition.
• Surfaces Reporter MagazinecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 June 2024Parent media house for WADE ASIA. Surfaces Reporter has been operating for 15 years covering architecture and design. Provides editorial support, media coverage, and publication platform for the events.
• NAREDCO (National Real Estate Development Council)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Strategic partnership for NAREDCO MAHI Women in Real Estate & Construction initiative. WADE ASIA became supporting partner for 4th NAREDCO Mahi Convention. NAREDCO established MAHI as women's wing for empowering women entrepreneurs in real estate sector.
• IIID (Institute of Interior Designers)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting association for WADE ASIA events. Professional association representing interior designers participating in the platform.
• ISOLAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting association for the WADE ASIA platform. Industry association for surface materials sector.
• GRIHA CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting association. GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) is India's own green building rating system.
• EU-India Chamber of CommerceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSupporting association for international business connections and trade facilitation between India and European Union.
• DupoplyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPowering the India Furniture Conclave 2025 as a category sponsor. Engagement with furniture, kitchens, wardrobes, hardware, and panel products segment.
• MATECIA ExhibitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConcurrent event and key business exhibition under the WADE ASIA umbrella. Organized by Bigsea Group (Bigsea Marcom). Connects exhibitors with architects, interior retailers, designers, distributors, builders, and dealers.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Maison & Objet Paris: Leading international lifestyle, design, and home-decoration trade fair — a benchmark peer for the trade-show-plus-content model that WADe/MATECIA operates, with overlapping exhibitor categories (furniture, materials, surfaces).
• CII Design Summit: Industry-body-backed design summit under the Confederation of Indian Industry — broader in scope (covering industrial and product design), but overlaps with WADe on architecture/interiors audience and corporate sponsorships.
• World Architecture Festival: Global architecture awards and conference program — shares the WADe model of combining juried awards, live project presentations, and conference content for an architect audience, though at an international scale.
• Salone del Mobile.Milano: The world's preeminent design and furniture fair in Milan — comparable in being a flagship global design platform combining exhibitions, awards, and conferences, though at materially larger scale and with a broader gender-neutral audience.

Direct peers

• INDEX (International Interior, Design & Architecture Expo): Major Indian interior design and architecture trade fair organized by Reed Exhibitions — competes head-to-head for exhibitor booth budgets, B2B networking, and architect/designer attendance in the same Indian market.
• IIA (Indian Institute of Architects) National Convention: Annual convention of India's official architect body — the largest gathering of Indian architects and a competing draw for sponsors, awards, and conference participation that WADe competes with.
• MATECIA Exhibition (internal subsidiary): Wholly-owned subsidiary under the same Bigsea Marcom parent, running the parallel B2B building-materials exhibition that co-locates with THE WADE ASIA — directly comparable exhibition format, audience, and sponsor base.
• ACETECH: India's largest dedicated architecture, construction, and building-materials trade exhibition — directly competes for the same exhibitor brands (Hettich, Kajaria, Greenply, etc.) and architect/specifier audience that MATECIA targets.
• Architectural Digest Design Show India: Premium design event curated by Architectural Digest India, focused on interiors, furniture, and luxury design — overlaps with WADe/MATECIA on exhibitor sponsorships and high-end designer audience.

Emerging players

• India Design Week: Multi-city design festival featuring exhibitions, installations, and talks — partially overlaps with WADe in celebrating design talent and attracting designer audiences, though broader in scope beyond architecture.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC7ct22lU9tUjm0Nw-ZDR2_A
• Facebookfacebook.com/FWADeIndia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wadeindia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about WADe India