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

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

Established 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 possible wife. The application, being a declaration by Match Group notes, approaches matchmaking that is mobile respect to neighborhood traditions and countries.

You can easily read more information about how a application works in this piece we’d written just last year.

“Sameh founded Harmonica after witnessing their sibling as well as other family members make an effort to meet prospective husbands through the arranged marriage process. He thought technology could facilitate relationships that are meaningful empower singles to meet up their future life partners, but there have been no services and products serving their community or handling 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 population that is muslim. Harmonica’s tiny group of 12 full-time workers (like the founders) is joining the US business included in the acquisition and certainly will evidently focus on an English app in addition to Harmonica presently comes with A arabic-only application. 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 using this purchase will likely be dealing with different (reasonably smaller) players which have been attempting to 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 siblings, cousins, and buddies in your mind, aided by the aim of assisting them find a perfect partner. It absolutely was critical that that which we built had been one thing to safeguard them and express the values our community cares profoundly about. It absolutely was also essential our moms and dads will be more comfortable with them utilizing our app.”

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

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 additionally the Middle East — which is trying to find their life lovers when you look at the future that is near and therefore aren’t correctly served by Western items”

“The Harmonica group isn’t just smart and revolutionary, but has generated an extremely differentiated and technologically impressive product which, although early-stage, certainly knows the requirements of this tradition. We think we’ve found great skill, with regional expertise and insights which will help us further succeed in our worldwide expansion strategy,” she included.

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

Both the investors with this particular purchase have actually completely exited the startup that is egyptian. This is the first high-profile exit for Flat6Labs, one of many earliest and leading accelerators of this area.

Ramez El-Serafy, CEO of Flat6Labs, commenting regarding 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 exactly the same self- self- self- self- confidence in going ahead with this specific deal that is remarkable. This deal marks the initial major Flat6Labs exit with significant comes back on investment in only over a year.”

Harmonica previously this had also joined Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center’s incubation program year. The startup had finished from TIEC’s incubator month that is last.