ZAWYA – May 18 – Following its success in Egypt, Hawaya (previously Harmonica, acquired by Match Group in 2019), a Cairo-based mobile dating app that approaches matchmaking with respect for Muslim traditions and cultures, has announced the expansion across the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman. Hawaya was founded in 2017 by an Egyptian entrepreneur, Sameh Saleh, who crafted the app to help his sister go through a safe journey towards marriage. The name Hawaya was inspired by the word "Hawa" which means "love" in Arabic.
Category: Harmonica
Egypt Matchmaking App Harmonica Is a Catch for Match Group
THE ARAB WEEKLY – Oct 6 – Match Group has announced the acquisition of the Egyptian emerging matchmaking application Harmonica. Harmonica relies on an AI engine to determine compatibility among users to help them find relationships. Before being launched in November 2017, Harmonica joined a 4-month programme of a regional early-stage investor and accelerator, Flat6Labs, during which it received financial, legal and technical support, as well as access to the Flat6Labs' network of partners and investors. By the end of the programme, the application had attracted ~5K users, a figure that would increase 700% in the following weeks. Following its stage at Flat6Labs, Harmonica entered the early-stage venture fund and seed accelerator 500 Startups, where it raised $150K. The start-up was selected by the Egyptian Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre (TIEC) to join its incubator Start IT, which grants a similar package to that of Flat6Labs but for a more advanced stage.
by Marc Espanol
See full article at The Arab Weekly
Match Group & Harmonica: More Details on the Acquisition
MENABYTES – Aug 7 – Match Group has acquired Egyptian online dating startup Harmonica. The financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed yet. Founded in early 2017 by Sameh Saleh, Tamer Saleh, Shaymaa Aly & Aly Khaled, Harmonica is designed to help Muslims find a life partner. Harmonica's small team of 12 full-time employees (including the founders) is joining Match Group and will work on an English app as well. Harmonica currently has an Arabic-only app. Harmonica will remain headquartered in Cairo, with Sameh Saleh continuing as CEO. It will be Match Group's first office in the Middle East.
by Mohammed Salah
See full article at MenaBytes
See all posts on Match Group
See all posts on Harmonica
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com
Match Group Reports Q2 2019 Results, Invests in Egyptian Dating App Harmonica
MATCH GROUP – Aug 6 – Match Group Q2 total Revenue grew 18% YOY to $498M. Average subscribers increased 18% to 9.1M, up from 7.7M from Q2 2018. Tinder average subscribers were 5.2M in Q2 2019, increasing 503K sequentially and 1.5M YOY. Operating income was $173M, up 15% YOY. Match Group has also invested in and brought on the team behind Harmonica, a dating app based in Egypt. Match Group will further develop this app and invest in product and marketing to expand into Asia and MENA (Middle East and North Africa) that are predominantly Muslim.
See full article at Match Group website
See all posts on Match Group
See all posts on Harmonica
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com
Harmonica: How the Arabic Dating App Aims to Help Egyptians Find a ‘Life Partner’
THE NATIONAL.AE – Dec 30 – Harmonica is the only dating platform available in Arabic. "We're overwhelmed with the interest and data we've received," says Harmonica co-founder and CEO Sameh Saleh, 31, who has received 50 confirmed accounts of matches that turned into marriage proposals since the app launched in November 2017. He predicts that the actual number is at least 10 times as high. To join Harmonica, users complete a short questionnaire that resembles a first meeting with a prospective mother-in-law. After filling in a short bio and uploading a couple of pictures, the questions that follow ask users about a their degree, work, income and their religious affiliation. Users can't sign up unless they have an active Facebook account that is at least two years old. Given Harmonica's strong focus on monogamy, users are permitted to view no more than 10 potential matches a day. The plan is to expand the app regionally within the next three years.
Harmonica, The eHarmony Of Egypt
QANTARA.DE – Nov 8 – Lack of compatibility is often cited by Egyptian partners who go their separate ways just a few years into marriage, one of the common reasons behind millions of divorces in Egypt. A group of young Egyptians decided to launch a mobile app called Harmonica with hopes the app will help reduce the divorce rate in Egypt. Harmonica asks users a large number of questions that have been designed by psychology specialists. These questions help pinpoint the interests and way of thinking of each user to a great extent. The answers are then analysed by a certain algorithm; based on the results, the application determines the best potential partners. The founders stress that Harmonica is not a dating app, but rather it has been specially designed for people looking for spouses.
by Mostafa Fathi
See full article at Qantara.de
Egyptian Matchmaking App Harmonica Raises $150K From 500 Startups
WEE TRACKER – Apr 27 – Cairo based matchmaking startup Harmonica is set for expansion having qualified for seed acceleration from the global accelerator, 500 Startups to the tune of $150K. The startup is a part of 18 startup companies that received seed acceleration in the 23rd batch of 500 Startups global accelerator in the Silicon Valley. Currently, the app claims 70K unique users which 10k are daily active users. The recently raised funds will be used to improve its technology and algorithm and add to its team members. Harmonica was founded by Sameh Saleh, Tamer Mohamed, Shaymaa Aly and Aly Khaled. The app prides itself on being strictly an Arab oriented matchmaking app.
by Joshua Moses
See full article at Wee Tracker
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
Harmonica: First Egypt’s Dating App
NEW STATESMAN – Feb 13 – A 2016 study found that while Badoo and Tinder dominate the Spanish and English-speaking worlds respectively, countries in the Middle East tended to use localised apps, if at all. Harmonica is Egypt's first mobile-dating app. The idea behind Harmonica is to approach dating in line with local cultural norms. During the initial match, users don't see much. Female users have the option to hide their photos until they've approved another user to view them. Harmonica's users are given two or three matches a day at most, all selected by the app's algorithm based on a mandatory 30-question survey, and users can only pick one with whom to chat. They're then given a seven-day period, before choosing to progress with their partner further or return to the matching stage.