Coronavirus fans flames of love in Nigeria's online dating scene

By Nneka Chile and Angela Ukomadu
LAGOS, July 17 (Reuters) - Oreoluwa Akinnawo is in his
element. Lagos's bars and restaurants are shut and Nigerians are
struggling to socialise. 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-year-old digital marketer.
Sparked by coronavirus, Akinnawo and others like him are
part of a boom in internet dating tailored for Nigerian
professionals. In Lagos, pre-outbreak courtship often revolved
around social functions, as well as couples meeting through
church or their mosque's social networks.
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 co-founder
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.
"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" programme
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."