Shahzad Younas’s Muslim app that is dating 15,000 partners meet to get hitched. He informs Amelia Heathman about contemporary love
uslims don’t date, we marry’,” claims Shahzad Younas, creator and CEO regarding the Muslim matching software Muzmatch. “It’s a phrase that is generalised it strikes the nail from the mind. If I’m fulfilling a lady, we’re both reasoning, is this individual wedding product?”
Muzmatch is usually dubbed the Muslim Tinder but Younas just isn’t therefore satisfied with the contrast. It makes use of some typical structures that are dating-app such as for example swipes and likes, but rather of centering on casual hook-ups it’s all about assisting Muslims find anyone to marry.
Numerous Muslims are required to marry young and also to somebody regarding the faith that is same. Choices consist of working together with a matchmaker, which computer technology graduate Younas defines as “like having your CV passed around” to get a partner that is appropriate. That he decided to create an app that would make the dating process more “halal” — acceptable in religious law so it was back in 2014, after hearing his friends swap stories about dating struggles.
Younas quit their job as a good investment banker and invested 6 months working 18-hour times to create Muzmatch in the bedroom. Half a year after starting, the application had produced its very first wedding.
“A few got in contact to express вЂthank you, we got hitched as a result of your app’. I became like, OK, this is certainly real,” he said. The outcome talk on their own: Muzmatch has one or more . 5 million people plus some 15,000 partners ‘ve got hitched after fulfilling about it.
It produced name it me you’re searching for? for it self outside of the Muslim community as a result of an advertising campaign that went in the Tube just last year featuring Lionel Richie singing: “Halal, is” The app ranks higher for downloads than the other religious-focused matching apps including JSwipe (Jewish) and Salt (Christian), according to analytics company App Annie, so it’s no wonder the big dating companies have come knocking in terms of competitors.
Younas won’t mention who, but claims he has turned them straight down everytime. “We’re for an objective to change how Muslims around the world think of marriage, and acquire married.”
Lots of work gets into making sure Muzmatch is just a space that is safe Muslims to talk and fulfill online. In 2016, the working platform introduced selfie verification to make sure everybody from the application is whom they do say they’ve been. The business features a group in Bangladesh which, alongside its HQ in Aldgate, manually moderates every profile.
Other privacy features are embedded. Users can request a chaperone be there in conversations in the application, such as for instance a member of cheekylovers online dating app icon family, as per an Islamic principle that whenever unmarried both women and men chat a alternative party should show up. Users may also make sure they’ve no profile image to their account or details such as for instance their name that is full they could be as personal online as you can. “It’s about knowing that Muslims are incredibly diverse and then we don’t wish to force individuals down a specific road. You want to function as the safe area and offer top-level privacy to the users,” says Younas.
Security is vital for any other reasons. “We get lots of EDL kinds and people that are right-wing you plenty of abuse — putting up Bin Laden photos and all sorts of that style of stuff,” claims Younas. “The positive thing is they get spotted quickly and eliminated and we also can block those users in a permanent method.” Regarding the upside, Muzmatch comes with non-Muslims registering since they are interested in learning the faith, such the man that is 50-plus changed into Islam after fulfilling some body regarding the application. “The human being tales can be pressing. We’re wanting to tread that type of being available but faithful that is equally being our community. It’s a line that is tricky walk down but We think we’ve nailed it.”
Therefore what’s next? The start-up has accomplished profitability by way of its premium paid-for tier however the next stage is to carry on to enhance the software and its particular features, and expand the team and its particular reach. “Purely on a figures foundation, one-fifth around the globe is Muslim,” claims Younas. “On top of the, we estimate there are about 400 million Muslims that are solitary and eligible. We glance at that, and we’ve not really produced dent.”
To simply help Muzmatch with its objective, the start-up has today announced the close of a large show A financing round for $7m. Investors included respected Silicon accelerator that is valley-based Combinator – Younas participated within the programme back 2017 – also as Luxor Capital.
“Shahzad has obviously made something that individuals want,” states Tim Brady, someone at Y Combinator. “He is really a founder that is resourceful happens to be hearing his users plus in the method has continued to develop an excellent solution for the Muslim community, in a fashion that main-stream organizations have actually did not do.”
Beyond bringing individuals together, Younas additionally desires to change attitudes when you look at the Muslim world making sure that marriage is approached in a contemporary means. “My vision is the fact that whenever Muslims across the world think of engaged and getting married Muzmatch pops into the mind — plus it feels as though a clear, non-taboo move to make,” he states. “I always think Muslims are five years behind the main-stream, specially when it comes down to technology. Now it is time to allow them to get caught up.”