Online dating sites giant Match Group acquires Egyptian dating startup Harmonica to expand into Muslim-majority markets

07 dic Online dating sites giant Match Group acquires Egyptian dating startup Harmonica to expand into Muslim-majority markets

Match Group, the internet dating giant with a market limit of over $20 billion that owns various dating web sites and apps including Tinder, OkCupid, indonesian mail order brides PlentyOfFish, and Match.com has obtained Egyptian internet dating startup Harmonica, the Dallas-headquartered business announced today in a declaration to MENAbytes, without disclosing monetary information on the deal.

Launched during the early 2017 by Sameh Saleh, Tamer Saleh, Shaymaa Aly & Aly Khaled, Harmonica’s app that’s carefully created for Muslims helps users find a life partner that is potential. The software, as being a declaration by Match Group records, approaches matchmaking that is mobile respect to neighborhood traditions and countries.

It is possible to read more information regarding the way the application works in this piece we’d written year that is last.

“Sameh founded Harmonica after witnessing their cousin as well as other family relations make an effort to meet possible husbands through the marriage process that is arranged. He thought technology could facilitate relationships that are meaningful empower singles to meet up with their future life lovers, but there have been no items serving their community or addressing more conservative social norms,” the business explained in a declaration.

Match Group is acquiring the Egyptian startup to provide 33 nations in Asia and MENA which have a big Muslim population. Harmonica’s little group of 12 full-time workers (such as the founders) is joining the US business within the purchase and certainly will evidently focus on an English app in addition to Harmonica presently posseses an app that is arabic-only. Harmonica, per statement, will remain headquartered in Cairo, with Sameh Saleh continuing as CEO. It’s going to be Match Group’s office that is first the center East.

The US business with this particular purchase is going to be accepting different (fairly smaller) players which have been wanting to re re re solve the situation of internet dating for Muslims, with YC-backed Muzmatch that recently raised $7 million Series A, being the absolute most prominent one.

Sameh Saleh, co-founder and CEO of Harmonica, stated, “Two years ago, we founded Harmonica with this sisters, cousins, and buddies in your mind, with all the objective of assisting them look for a perfect partner. It absolutely was critical that that which we built had been one thing to safeguard them and express the values which our community cares profoundly about. It had been also essential which our moms and dads could be confident with them making use of our app.”

“We’ve already facilitated a huge selection of marriages simply in Egypt and think that with Match Group’s vast experience, you will find exciting possibilities ahead,” he added.

Mandy Ginsberg, CEO of Match Group, stated, “As we think of worldwide development and expansion, you can find huge populations of young singles — mostly across Asia as well as the Middle East — which will be interested in their life lovers when you look at the not too distant future, and therefore aren’t correctly offered by Western services and products”

“The Harmonica team isn’t only smart and revolutionary, but has generated an extremely differentiated and product that is technologically impressive, although early-stage, really knows the requirements of this tradition. We think we’ve discovered talent that is great with regional expertise and insights that can help us further fl

ish in our worldwide expansion strategy,” she added.

Harmonica ended up being backed 500 Startups (it had been section of their accelerator that is global Flat6Labs Cairo.

Both the investors using this purchase have actually completely exited the startup that is egyptian. It’s the very first exit that is high-profile Flat6Labs, one of many earliest and leading accelerators regarding the area.

Ramez El-Serafy, CEO of Flat6Labs, commenting in the event, stated, “From time one we’ve had significant amounts of rely upon Harmonica’s talented group, and their truly innovative wedding matchmaking application; now, we’re delighted that Match Group is sharing the exact same self- self- self- confidence in going ahead with this specific remarkable deal. This deal marks the very first major Flat6Labs exit with significant comes back on investment in only over a year.”

Harmonica early in the day this 12 months had additionally accompanied tech Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center’s incubation program. The startup had finished from TIEC’s incubator last thirty days.