Shahzad Younas’s Muslim online dating application assisted 15,000 lovers satisfy acquire partnered. The guy tells Amelia Heathman about contemporary enjoy
the guy expression happens: ‘Muslims don’t go out, we marry’,” says Shahzad Younas, creator and Chief Executive Officer regarding the Muslim matching software Muzmatch. “It’s a generalised term it strikes the nail in the head. If I’m meeting a woman, we’re both reasoning, is this individual wedding material?”
Muzmatch might be dubbed the Muslim Tinder but Younas just isn’t very pleased with the assessment. It makes use of some typical dating-app frameworks, including swipes and wants, but instead of emphasizing informal hook-ups it is all about helping Muslims look for you to definitely get married.
Most Muslims are required to wed youthful and also to somebody of the same belief. Choices incorporate using a matchmaker, which computer system technology graduate Younas represent as “like having your CV passed around” locate a suitable lover. As a result it ended up being back 2014, after reading his family swap tales about internet dating struggles, he chose to establish an app that will result in the dating techniques much more “halal” — appropriate 
in religious law.
Younas quit their work as a good investment banker and invested 6 months working 18-hour period to create Muzmatch in the rooms. Six months after establishing, the software have created their basic matrimony.
“A partners got contact to say ‘thank your, we had gotten partnered due to your app’. I happened to be like, OK, this might be real,” the guy stated. The outcomes speak on their own: Muzmatch features multiple and a half million users many 15,000 lovers have got hitched after meeting onto it.
It generated a name for itself beyond your Muslim community using a post venture that ran from the tubing a year ago featuring Lionel Richie performing: “Halal, could it possibly be me you’re searching for?” With respect to opponents, the application ranks larger for packages than the additional religious-focused matching applications such as JSwipe (Jewish) and sodium (Christian), relating to analytics business software Annie, so that it’s no surprise the big relationship agencies came knocking.
Younas won’t mention exactly who, but claims he has got switched all of them down whenever. “We’re on an objective to change just how Muslims around the globe contemplate relationship, acquire hitched.”
Lots of work enters making sure Muzmatch are a safe room for Muslims to have a chat and meet online. In 2016, the platform released selfie confirmation assuring folks regarding application try whom they claim they’re. The organization possess a team in Bangladesh which, alongside the HQ in Aldgate, by hand moderates every profile.
Various other confidentiality characteristics tend to be inserted. Consumers can need a chaperone be present in talks throughout the application, such as a family member, depending on an Islamic idea that after unmarried men and women chat a 3rd party need current. Customers also can see they’ve got no profile picture on the profile or information instance their unique full name, so that they can end up being as private on line as you possibly can. “It’s about understanding that Muslims are very varied so we don’t wanna push individuals down a particular path. You want to end up being the secure room and supply top-level privacy to our users,” states Younas.
Safety is paramount for any other reasons. “We get lots of EDL type and Right-wing someone giving you plenty of punishment — putting up container Laden photographs and all of that kind of products,” claims Younas. “The a valuable thing is that they become identified quickly and removed and we can block those customers in a long-term means.” Throughout the upside, Muzmatch comes with non-Muslims joining since they are interested in learning the faith, these the 50-plus guy who transformed into Islam after satisfying people on the application. “The real person stories are quite pressing. We’re wanting to tread that collection of getting open but equally getting faithful to our area. It’s a tricky range to walk down but i believe we’ve nailed they.”
So what’s subsequent? The start-up possess attained profits courtesy the superior paid-for level nevertheless then stage is to still improve the app and its own properties, and increase the group and its go. “Purely on a numbers factor, one-fifth around the globe is actually Muslim,” states Younas. “On leading of this, we estimate you’ll find around 400 million Muslims that single and qualified. We glance at that, and we’ve not really made a dent.”
To help Muzmatch with its goal, the start-up has now established the close of a huge collection a financing game for $7m. Traders included trusted Silicon Valley-based accelerator Y Combinator – Younas took part in program back 2017 – and Luxor funds.
“Shahzad features demonstrably generated something which men and women want,” says Tim Brady, someone at Y Combinator. “He is an imaginative creator who has been enjoying his customers and in the procedure has continued to develop an excellent service for any Muslim area, such that popular organizations have failed to do.”
Beyond providing everyone with each other, Younas in addition desires changes thinking into the Muslim world so as that matrimony are contacted in today’s ways. “My plans usually whenever Muslims throughout the world think of engaged and getting married Muzmatch one thinks of — and it feels like a clear, non-taboo thing to do,” he says. “i envision Muslims are 5 years behind the mainstream, especially when considering tech. Today it’s time in order for them to get caught up.”