Two years ago, 29-year-old Sameh Saleh, a technology entrepreneur from Cairo, realised that a close relative of his, Amira, was suffering. Good-looking from a respectable family, and a qualified medical doctor, she should have had no problem finding a fiancé. Yet, despite this, Saleh noticed many of his friends and relatives unable to tie the knot in recent years. An economic downturn since the Arab Spring in 2011 has left people fighting to maintain living standards, let alone start a new family. After seeing what this was doing to his loved ones, Saleh decided in 2015 that he would find a way to help. Hot on the heels of global dating apps like Tinder and Bumble, Saleh is trying to bring the idea of phone-based relationships to a more conservative crowd. Although other dating sites have been targeted at the Middle East — Matchmallow, LoveHabibi, and the many Muslim dating sites — it is hard to think of a Tinder equivalent. Since first appearing in 2004, apps that provide a simple platform for potential couples to meet have become a mainstay of Western dating culture. In 2016, a Pew survey found that more than a third of young Americans now look for love through their phone. Last September, Tinder was the highest grossing app on iTunes. The idea behind Harmonica is to approach dating in line with local cultural norms. Hramonica also differs from other apps, due to its strong focus on monogamy. Instead, Saleh has tried to create an experience more in line with Egyptian cultural norms. The family will be involved from day one. It's up to them, it's not mandated or anything, and it just gives the app a more conservative side for those who choose. Outside of Egypt, a handful of apps already offer a similar service, such as Matchmallows and Salaam Swipe, based in Canada and the UK respectively. One entrepreneur who predates Saleh is Shahzad Younas, a 33-year-old from Manchester who launched Muzmatch two years ago as a way for young Muslim couples the world over to meet. Younas reckons that his app has paired up 7,000 married couples around the world, including one couple in Uganda; unknown to them, they were the only two in the country to have signed up to it. But despite their best efforts, entrepreneurs behind these sorts of apps often find opposition from the most pious observers, as Younas has discovered through his experiences with Muzmatch. Since then, Harmonica has been used over one million times by its users, and has become one of the most popular new apps in the country. Dedicated users even began sharing Harmonica memes, and Saleh has appeared on multiple talk-shows to explain his start-up and vision for the future. And, of course, Amira was one of the first to sign up. Edmund Bower is a freelance journalist based in Cairo.
