We all know about online dating. Dating websites have been around as long as the internet. One country that has been slow to take to online dating is South Africa. This is all changing now. There are several factors which have contributed to the massive growth in online dating over the last 12 months or so. Firstly, the completion of a massive government project running a high speed underwater link to Europe to deliver much faster broadband speeds and the relaxation of government restrictions on who can offer internet services. This has led to much better internet speeds and greater competition driving down the costs associated with high speed internet access. The second reason online dating is growing in popularity is the stigmas attached to using the internet to find love have been banished making it far more acceptable to use the internet to find a partner.

With the boundaries of online dating being pushed the market has expanded into one of the fastest growing online markets in Africa. Only a few years ago the choices of online dating websites were limited to only a few providers, many with dubious reputations. The increase in revenue has brought many of the larger dating site operators from overseas to invest in the South African dating market. A quick search for online dating will now return thousands of South African dating sites of varying quality and pricing as well as lots of more niche sites like Christian dating, Single parent dating and even a few gay dating websites which would be unheard of a couple of years ago in South Africa.

What does the future hold for online dating in South Africa?

As more and more people are coming online the scope for increased profits and fiercer competition in the dating marketplace dating websites will get better and cheaper to join. Such competition is great for South Africans and the dating industry as a whole. With the arrival of new high speed internet connections also comes much faster and affordable mobile internet access via smart phones so we expect to see many of the bigger dating companies investing heavily into mobile application development.