One of the world's best destinations for living abroad, Mauritius is considered a haven for entrepreneurs, regardless of their origins. A French entrepreneur living on the island, Clément recently developed a mobile dating application with his dedicated team. He talks about his experience and project to Expat.com.
What are you doing in Mauritius?
I work in Mauritius as a UI/UX expert and founder of a dating app which is entirely anonymous. We launched the app at the end of September 2019.
Why did you choose to relocate to Mauritius?
I was looking to a change of lifestyle, which would also allow me to discover a new culture. Mauritius was the ideal destination for me to combine my professional life and my passion within a safe and secure environment.
What motivated you to develop this dating app? Who are the people behind this project?
Prior to being associates, we are a group of four friends who are passionate about the evolution of society and the digital world. We found out (like many other people here) that dating websites and apps are poorly used in Mauritius while almost 50% of 18-25-year-olds in Europe use it daily! We questioned the people around us and did public surveys.
With the most downloaded dating apps abroad, you choose the person you wish to connect with based only on their profile picture. For the rest, you just throw it away in the bin. It's as simple as that.
But in Mauritius, a small island, nobody wants everyone to know that they are using a dating app. In fact, dating apps and meeting people you have only known virtually is still a taboo.This is how we thought about offering an alternative, based on anonymity, that would favour quality encounters rather than physical attraction and our dating app came to life.
Your profile picture is blurred automatically. Since all profiles are anonymous, there is no risk of any of your relatives or colleagues finding out that you are using a dating app.
Your interactions with people via the app will be based on your feelings upon sight of the blurred picture. You can then say “Hi” and start a brand new adventure and see whether you click with that person. The blurred image will start revealing as the discussion goes further.
What response did you get following the launch of the app?
We reached over 5,000 downloads within two months following the launch. User feedback is very positive – which confirms our vision and concept. Besides, we have started working on new versions to enhance user experience.
