Hawaya, the Cairo-born matchmaking app, has arrived at the 4 million user milestone, after expanding outside of Egypt over the past year.
The app currently operates in 12 new countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, as well as France, Germany, the UK, Indonesia, Malaysia, the US, and Canada.
In response to users’ feedback and behaviour on the app, Hawaya just released a new version of the app with new features to help add to its success stories. The matches that have ended up in formal commitments have totalled up to 18,000 thus far, with 5,000 in Egypt alone.
To make that happen, Hawaya introduces “Lifestyle Preferences” as a new feature, to allow users to state whether they pray regularly or avoid alcohol or tobacco, just to make things easier when finding a suitable life partners on the app.
The new features also comprise “Lists” that help categorise a user’s matches according to their interests or activity on the app. Hawaya also opened the border gates through the “Geolocation filter” so that users can match with potential partners no matter where they are based.
Sameh Saleh, Hawaya’s founder and CEO, said, “Through innovation, tech, and cultural respect, Hawaya prides itself on being a progressive app that aims to destigmatise the taboo of online matchmaking, and empowering women to take their time to spark a real connection with the love of their lives.”
He added, “It does that by removing the pressure to settle down quickly with someone unsuitable, and by offering a platform where real singles can start real love stories, based on serious intentions and commitment.”
After being isolated for over a year during the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, people seek a sense of companionship and have a deep need to find meaningful, serious relationships today more than ever.
It has been exactly four years since Hawaya’s launch, and the founders are seeing a greater social acceptance towards online matchmaking and marriage apps.
Shaymaa Ali, Hawaya’s co-founder and Marketing Manager in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, said, “We’re seeing singles all over the region, women in particular, trusting in Hawaya to find their life partner more than ever before, which displays greater social acceptance for mobile matchmaking as an empowering tool for women to find their ideal life partner.”
She added that, on a global level, the app has seen a surge in downloads across 13 different countries, and is proud to have played a part in sparking over 18,000 successful love stories to date.
