Original article published in Kommersant
Author: Yulia Tishina
The Russian dating service Mamba is investing $1 million to enter the Turkish market. By the end of the year, the company aims to rank among the top three most downloaded apps in this segment. Local "cultural specifics" could either aid or hinder this expansion, experts caution.
Mamba has launched its Turkish expansion and will invest over $1 million in 2020, the company’s Marketing Director Pyotr Boytsov told Kommersant. *"Turkey, with its 80 million population, is a priority market for us: mobile penetration reaches 99%, and annual app installation growth shows double-digit rates,"* he noted. By late 2020, Mamba plans to break into Turkey’s top three dating apps, currently led by Tinder, Happn, Jaumo, and others.
The decision to enter Turkey follows Mamba’s successful scaling in Israel, where promotion began in April 2019, Boytsov added. By October 2019, per App Annie, Mamba ranked as Israel’s second-most popular dating app after okCupid, surpassing Tinder.
Founded in 2003, Mamba is 65% owned by Finam Group, with Mail.ru Group holding the remaining 35%. The service claims 40 million profiles on its website. According to Kartoteka.ru, 2018 revenue totaled 865 million rubles, with net profit at 200 million rubles. Data from MaximaTelecom (Wi-Fi operator in Moscow/St. Petersburg metros) shows Tinder dominates Moscow’s dating traffic (45.86%), followed by Badoo (34.75%) and Mamba (12.46%).
Among Russian internet firms in Turkey, Yandex stands out—it entered the market in 2011. In 2018, Yandex escalated its competition for market share by filing a complaint with Turkish antitrust authorities against Google, accusing it of blocking users’ ability to set default search engines. The conflict led Google to bar vendors from preinstalling its services on new Turkish phones in December 2019. As of that month, per StatCounter, Yandex held 12.55% of Turkey’s search market, versus Google’s 84.69%. Yandex continues developing search, portal, geolocation, and other services there, including Yandex.Navigator with voice assistant "Alice", which boasts 4 million monthly Turkish users.
"Yandex has recently focused more on its domestic market, so its Turkish share may have declined," notes Alexander Chachava, Director of Leta Capital. For Mamba, however, the region could succeed because "in Muslim countries, young people often show greater interest in dating services due to restrictions on traditional meetups." For instance, Saudi Arabia is now one of the fastest-growing online dating markets. "Residents there are more willing to pay for such services than others," he adds.
Analyst Sergey Vilianov (Fintech Lab accelerator) observes that Mamba has long been popular among Turkish men. Yet, he argues, "Muslim cultural norms will likely prevent the service from capturing significant market share, keeping its focus on men seeking women from other cultures." The planned investment volume, he says, suggests Mamba aims to "formalize revenue streams and solidify its brand"—but full-scale expansion would require far greater funding.
Mamba has launched its Turkish expansion and will invest over $1 million in 2020, the company’s Marketing Director Pyotr Boytsov told Kommersant. *"Turkey, with its 80 million population, is a priority market for us: mobile penetration reaches 99%, and annual app installation growth shows double-digit rates,"* he noted. By late 2020, Mamba plans to break into Turkey’s top three dating apps, currently led by Tinder, Happn, Jaumo, and others.
The decision to enter Turkey follows Mamba’s successful scaling in Israel, where promotion began in April 2019, Boytsov added. By October 2019, per App Annie, Mamba ranked as Israel’s second-most popular dating app after okCupid, surpassing Tinder.
Founded in 2003, Mamba is 65% owned by Finam Group, with Mail.ru Group holding the remaining 35%. The service claims 40 million profiles on its website. According to Kartoteka.ru, 2018 revenue totaled 865 million rubles, with net profit at 200 million rubles. Data from MaximaTelecom (Wi-Fi operator in Moscow/St. Petersburg metros) shows Tinder dominates Moscow’s dating traffic (45.86%), followed by Badoo (34.75%) and Mamba (12.46%).
Among Russian internet firms in Turkey, Yandex stands out—it entered the market in 2011. In 2018, Yandex escalated its competition for market share by filing a complaint with Turkish antitrust authorities against Google, accusing it of blocking users’ ability to set default search engines. The conflict led Google to bar vendors from preinstalling its services on new Turkish phones in December 2019. As of that month, per StatCounter, Yandex held 12.55% of Turkey’s search market, versus Google’s 84.69%. Yandex continues developing search, portal, geolocation, and other services there, including Yandex.Navigator with voice assistant "Alice", which boasts 4 million monthly Turkish users.
"Yandex has recently focused more on its domestic market, so its Turkish share may have declined," notes Alexander Chachava, Director of Leta Capital. For Mamba, however, the region could succeed because "in Muslim countries, young people often show greater interest in dating services due to restrictions on traditional meetups." For instance, Saudi Arabia is now one of the fastest-growing online dating markets. "Residents there are more willing to pay for such services than others," he adds.
Analyst Sergey Vilianov (Fintech Lab accelerator) observes that Mamba has long been popular among Turkish men. Yet, he argues, "Muslim cultural norms will likely prevent the service from capturing significant market share, keeping its focus on men seeking women from other cultures." The planned investment volume, he says, suggests Mamba aims to "formalize revenue streams and solidify its brand"—but full-scale expansion would require far greater funding.