Andrew Lynch and Kiril Dobrev are the team behind www.joinweaver.co.za. Image courtesy of Weaver.
South Africa’s latest dating platform has been launched, aiming to remove the awkwardness from one-on-one dates and instead looking to pair two groups of friends.
Cape Town-based Andrew Lynch and Kiril Dobrev, the duo behind Cable Kiosk and ShopDeploy, have made Weaver their latest venture, hoping to fill the gap between social networking and traditional online dating sites.
A ‘Weaver’ is a date made up of two parties of three, paired together after a small amount of preferences are submitted on the site and analysed by computer algorithms, with the final match being made by the team behind the site.
Speaking to HumanIPO, Dobrev said: “We have both been out of university for a year and we realised your social life completely changes and it is hard to meet new people.”
Lynch added: “Currently one of the only ways is to join a social club, which a lot of young professionals haven’t got time to do. The other is online dating, but in South Africa they are all designed to help you meet ‘the one’.
“A lot of guys and girls just want to meet another cool group of people to enjoy a night out with.”
Once the site has paired two groups of friends they are given a date and venue to attend.
Users do not pay to subscribe to the service, but each ‘Weaver’ costs ZAR79 (US$7.88) per head and includes the matching service, evening coordination and the first round of drinks.
Dobrev added: “After we make a match and set the groups up with one of the city’s watering holes our role is finished. From there on it is up to them where it goes next.”
The site is currently live and serving Cape Town and Johannesburg. It is expected to be rolled out in Durban and Pretoria soon.
