2017, Y Combinator graduate, Muzmatch, London, UK-based matchmaking app for Muslims has raised $7 million in a Series A round led by U.S. hedge fund Luxor Capital and Silicon Valley accelerator Y Combinator.
The soulmate matching app currently adores a userbase of 1.5 million, across 210 countries. The app often regarded as ‘the Tinder for Muslims’, but Shahzad Younus, the CEO & Founder, Muzmatch doesn’t synchronise with the comparison. According to Evening Standard, Younus has quoted…
“Muslims don’t date, we marry”, “It’s a generalised phrase but it hits the nail on the head. If I’m meeting a girl, we’re both thinking, is this person marriage material?”
Though the app has a similar environment like that of a typical dating app, such as swipes and likes, it is focused to help Muslims find a soulmate instead of a casual relation that doesn’t last.
According to Younus, the matchmaking on Muzmatch is “like having your CV passed around to find an appropriate partner”.
The genesis of Muzmatch
Back in 2014, after hearing his friends’ swap stories about dating struggles, Younus decided to create an app that would make the dating process more ‘Halal’. Younus quit his job as an investment banker and spent 6 months working 18-hour days to create Muzmatch in his bedroom.
The first Muz-Match!
6 months after the launch, Muzmatch produced its first marriage.
“A couple got in touch to say ‘thank you, we got married because of your app’. I was like, OK, this is real”, said Younus.
And till now, over 15,000 marriages have happened via Muzmatch.
Muzmatch – A sync with Shari’a (Islamic Law)
The idea behind Muzmatch was to ensure a safe space for Muslims to meet and chat online. In 2016, the platform introduced a selfie verification system to ensure safety. The company also has a dedicated team in Bangladesh that manually moderates every profile.
Users also have the option to request a chaperone to be present in conversations like any family member or guardians. This creates a complete alignment with the Islamic principle that says – a family member or third party has to be present during a conversation happening between an unmarried man and woman.
Apart from this, users can choose to have no profile picture and other details such as full name out of privacy concerns.
“It’s about understanding that Muslims are so diverse and we don’t want to force people down a particular road. We want to be a safe space and provide top-level privacy to our users.”
“We get a lot of EDL types and Right-wing people giving you a lot of abuse – putting up Bin Laden pictures and all that kind of stuff”, “The good thing is they get spotted quickly and removed and we can block those users in a permanent way.”
– Shahzad Younus – CEO & Founder, Muzmatch
Growth plans
With the freshly raised fund will be deployed to hire new talent, international expansion and adding more features to the platform.
“one-fifth of the world is Muslim, on top of that, we estimate there are around 400 million Muslims who are single and eligible. We look at that, and we’ve not even made a dent.”
– Shahzad Younus – CEO & Founder, Muzmatch
Statements enclosing the funding round
“Shahzad has clearly made something that people want, he is a resourceful founder who has been listening to his users and in the process has developed an invaluable service for the Muslim community, in a way that mainstream companies have failed to do.”
– Tim Brady – a partner at Y Combinator
“My vision is that when Muslims around the world think about getting married Muzmatch comes to mind — and it feels like an obvious, non-taboo thing to do, I always think Muslims are five years behind the mainstream, especially when it comes to tech. Now it’s time for them to catch up.”
– Shahzad Younus – CEO & Founder, Muzmatch
ⓘ Source: Evening Standard
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