App-based matchmaking services are getting a big boost in Bangladesh as an internationally reputed company sets its foothold on local wedding-business market to grab a slice of the cake.
The Chennai-based wedding-service company, Matrimony, believes that the market has huge potential in the country following societal and lifestyle changes of urban people.
In rural areas, elderly people, relatives or local matchmakers usually get involved with such social and religious job with or without fees. 'Ghotok' or matchmaker is a character derived in cultural event from such practice.
The online-based global matrimony player says it gets more than 1,000 clients a day now. It provides round-the-clock call-centre service to those who are looking for life partners.
In contrast, local matchmaking organisations like Ghotok Pakhi Ltd have been providing traditional services where many get frustrated with their services. There are many matchmaking houses who charge lump sum but, in many cases, they cannot connect proper partners timely.
However, entrepreneurs of the multinational wedding network say the app named BangladeshiMatrimony is one of the fastest-growing services among its networks. It has similar operations in Dubai and the USA, apart from India.
The launch of an office in Dhaka is to serve its growing base of tens of thousands of singles looking for a life partner.
Shahrukhur Rahman Khan, country manager at BangladeshiMatrimony, said: "More than 1000 brides and grooms are registering every day through our app and website, and we have helped thousands of Bangladeshis successfully find a life partner."
He says with their customer sales and service support from their office in Dhaka they are aiming to serve the customers better in Bangladesh.
To help users find the best match for themselves, BangladeshiMatrimony has thousands of profiles which can be filtered according to education, location, age, religious sect, and more, he commented.
"Interested users can reach out to potential matches by sending requests and likes, as well as directly calling and messaging them."
Users can also access in-depth information about potential matches such as religious beliefs, education, profession, lifestyle, hobbies, partner preferences and the like.
The wedding network told the FE correspondent that it connects singles in major cities like Dhaka, Chattogram, Cumilla, Noakhali, Feni, Khulna, Rajshahi and Sylhet. It also connects singles with non-resident Bangladeshis who are living abroad.
The singles can register for free and get many services related to wedding. The services are: profile creation, compatible match recommendation, contact-matching profiles and notifications.
There is premium membership which contacts directly through Cal, WhatsApp, Chat and Messages.
"We aim to protect personal information through a system of organisation and technical-security measures," he says about their operations and privacy.
The wedding firm says it has implemented appropriate internal-control measures designed to protect the security of any personal information they process.
To avoid fake query it uses verified OTP [one-time password] to the mobile number used for registration.
"We also manually screen 100 per cent of profiles to weed out non-serious users."
There are over 800,000, on average, marriages usually registered a year. But people who believe in Hinduism do not have such registration system.
Matrimony.com Limited, whose flagship brand is BharatMatrimony, has more than 4,000 employees working at over 20 offices across India.
