Muslim dating app Muzmatch raises funds to expand overseas

Muzmatch, a dating app for Muslims, has raised £1.5 million from a clutch of investors to expand overseas and grow the team.

The three-year-old company, based in Aldgate, central London, was set up by Shahzad Younas, 33, an ex-investment banker for Morgan Stanley, and Ryan Brodie, 24, a software engineer, to help Muslims date more easily. Investors Hambro Perks — co-founded by City veteran Rupert Hambro — and Y Combinator have bought a minority stake.

“Muslims don’t really date, we get married,” said Younas, chief executive. “Mainstream apps don’t serve this kind of market.”

Users can choose not to show photos on their profiles or blur them. It also has a chaperoning option, whereby the in-app chats are sent to a guardian.

The business, which is currently profitable, the entrepreneurs claim, has more than 350,000 users in 160 countries, although Britain still accounts for around half.

The founders will use the cash to boost their presence in countries including America and Canada and beef up their platform.