Pandemic fans love quests online

The pandemic has changed the dating scene in Nigeria. With courtship moving online from bars and restaurants, dating apps Vybe and Lagosmatchmaker have seen business booming.

Lagos—oreoluwa

Akinnawo is in his element. Lagos’ bars and restaurants are shut and Nigerians are struggling to socialize. The pandemic is his perfect time to find a soul mate online.

“The dating thing during this restriction works perfectly for me because I’m really an indoors person,” said Akinnawo, a 25-yearold digital marketer.

Sparked by coronavirus, Akinnawo and others like him are part of a boom in internet dating tailored for Nigerian professionals.

In Lagos, preoutbreak courtship often revolved around social functions, as well as couples meeting through church or their mosque’s social networks.

Online intimacy

Vybe, an app which went live in April 2019, has seen user numbers grow by almost a third to roughly 8,000 as movement restrictions push people to seek intimacy online, the company said.

“Coronavirus has been weirdly good for us,” said cofounder Adetolani Eko. “People are becoming more aware of the need to connect through other means,” he said.

Vybe and Lagosmatchmaker, the moniker of dating coach Didi Edet, have moved activities online to keep offering premium services that other apps do not.

First dates

“People cannot meet for first dates, unless they meet at people’s homes and locations which people did not feel was really safe,” said Edet, whose “Dating in Quarantine” program has more than 500 people.

At Vybe, game nights and speed dating sessions are all online now.

That was how Akinnawo met a woman he describes as cool, witty and smart. They speak four or five nights a week, chatting about swimming, singing and getting rid of traditional gender roles.

“You are no longer really focused on what the person looks like, but you’re focusing on the answers to the questions that you are hearing from the person,” Akinnawo said. “It feels more personal than before.”