Original article published in Kommersant
Author: Yulia Tishina
The Russian dating service Mamba is investing $3 million to enter the markets of Italy and Germany. The company hopes that the Russian-speaking community in these countries will attract local residents to the service. The pandemic has negatively impacted the dating app market, which has also affected Mamba's user base in Israel and Turkey. However, the company expects growth in downloads and revenue in 2021.
Mamba has begun scaling its operations in Italy and Germany, with combined investments in these markets totaling $3 million, the company told Kommersant. In both countries, the average revenue per paying user exceeds 1,000 rubles per month—nearly double that of Russia, according to Mamba.
"Italy and Germany have large Russian-speaking expat communities that love our app and actively communicate not only among themselves but also with local users," explained Mamba’s Executive Director Yaroslav Sergeyev.
Mamba plans to grow initially through expat registrations before shifting focus to foreign users. By the end of 2021, the company aims to rank among the top five most popular dating apps in Germany and Italy. Its main competitors include Tinder, Badoo, Bumble, Lovoo, Happn, and local German platforms like Lovescout24.
Founded in 2003, Mamba is 65% owned by Finam Group, with the remaining 35% held by Mail.ru Group. The service claims 60 million registered profiles. According to SPARK-Interfax, Mamba’s revenue in 2019 reached 964 million rubles, with a net profit of 251 million rubles.
Beyond Russia, Mamba already operates in Israel, where it launched in April 2019, and Turkey, where it invested $1 million to break into the top three dating apps (see Kommersant, January 17). So far, it has only reached the top five, as the Turkish launch coincided with the peak of the pandemic, Mamba notes.
"Turkey is now under its third lockdown, which affects user activity," acknowledges Pyotr Boytsov, the company’s marketing director. A similar trend is observed in Israel. "But we’re not halting promotions and expect steady growth in downloads and revenue in 2021," he assured.
The scale of Mamba’s investments in new markets suggests it relies more on word-of-mouth growth than advertising, which is costlier in Europe than in Russia, says Vladimir Zykov, Director of the Association of Professional Social Media and Messaging Users.
Analyst Sergei Vilianov of Fintech Lab accelerator is skeptical about Mamba’s expansion plans for Italy, given the lack of a significant Russian-speaking community there. He agrees that Germany’s Russian diaspora—estimated at 1.5 million—is more prominent. However, the mass migration wave to Germany ended in the late 1990s, meaning most expats are now older adults for whom services like Mamba may be less relevant, while younger users prefer Western apps like Tinder and Badoo.
Vilianov adds that lockdowns may not severely impact Mamba: users seeking long-term relationships in their current locations, with fewer entertainment options, are spending more time on such platforms.
Mamba has begun scaling its operations in Italy and Germany, with combined investments in these markets totaling $3 million, the company told Kommersant. In both countries, the average revenue per paying user exceeds 1,000 rubles per month—nearly double that of Russia, according to Mamba.
"Italy and Germany have large Russian-speaking expat communities that love our app and actively communicate not only among themselves but also with local users," explained Mamba’s Executive Director Yaroslav Sergeyev.
Mamba plans to grow initially through expat registrations before shifting focus to foreign users. By the end of 2021, the company aims to rank among the top five most popular dating apps in Germany and Italy. Its main competitors include Tinder, Badoo, Bumble, Lovoo, Happn, and local German platforms like Lovescout24.
Founded in 2003, Mamba is 65% owned by Finam Group, with the remaining 35% held by Mail.ru Group. The service claims 60 million registered profiles. According to SPARK-Interfax, Mamba’s revenue in 2019 reached 964 million rubles, with a net profit of 251 million rubles.
Beyond Russia, Mamba already operates in Israel, where it launched in April 2019, and Turkey, where it invested $1 million to break into the top three dating apps (see Kommersant, January 17). So far, it has only reached the top five, as the Turkish launch coincided with the peak of the pandemic, Mamba notes.
"Turkey is now under its third lockdown, which affects user activity," acknowledges Pyotr Boytsov, the company’s marketing director. A similar trend is observed in Israel. "But we’re not halting promotions and expect steady growth in downloads and revenue in 2021," he assured.
The scale of Mamba’s investments in new markets suggests it relies more on word-of-mouth growth than advertising, which is costlier in Europe than in Russia, says Vladimir Zykov, Director of the Association of Professional Social Media and Messaging Users.
Analyst Sergei Vilianov of Fintech Lab accelerator is skeptical about Mamba’s expansion plans for Italy, given the lack of a significant Russian-speaking community there. He agrees that Germany’s Russian diaspora—estimated at 1.5 million—is more prominent. However, the mass migration wave to Germany ended in the late 1990s, meaning most expats are now older adults for whom services like Mamba may be less relevant, while younger users prefer Western apps like Tinder and Badoo.
Vilianov adds that lockdowns may not severely impact Mamba: users seeking long-term relationships in their current locations, with fewer entertainment options, are spending more time on such platforms.