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Flat6Labs, the regional early stage investor and accelerator, announced a full exit of its investment in Harmonica: a marriage matchmaking platform and mobile application that helps users meet their compatible life-time partner through scientifically driven, technology enabled, and culturally sensitive methods. American internet giantMatch Group (MTCH) moved forward with a majority investment in Harmonica in preparation to enter the MENA and South-East Asian markets.

Harmonica joined Flat6Labs’ accelerator program in August 2017, where they received seed funding, mentorship, training, legal services, and more during the duration of the four-month acceleration period. Upon completing the acceleration program, Harmonica had acquired approximately 5,000 users, which quickly rocketed 700% in the weeks following. Shortly after, Flat6Labs & 500 Startups invested in Harmonica to fund their operations and fuel growth trajectory. 

“From day one we’ve had a great deal of trust in Harmonica’s talented team, and their truly innovative marriage matchmaking application; and now, we’re thrilled that Match Group is sharing the same confidence in moving ahead with this remarkable majority investment deal,” said Ramez El-Serafy, Flat6Labs CEO. “This deal not only marks the first major Flat6Labs exit with a 16x return on investment in just over one year, but also marks Match Group’s first entry in the MENA and the South-East Asian markets; and we’re proud that they’re actualising this move with one of our very own startups,” added El-Serafy.

Harmonica allocated Flat6Labs & 500 Startups’ investments towards the development of better algorithms, and the activation of their monetisation plans. To date, Harmonica has been growing steadily at 650%, marking an exponential user growth for the application in a relatively short period of time.

“Two years ago, we founded Harmonica with our sisters, cousins and friends in mind, with the goal of helping them find the perfect partner. It was critical that what we built protected them and represented the values that our community cares deeply about. Also, it was important to ensure that their parents would be comfortable with them using our app” said Sameh Saleh, CEO of Harmonica. “We’ve already enabled hundreds of marriages just in Egypt and believe there are exciting opportunities ahead as we join the Match Group portfolio.”

This deal resulted in a 16x exit multiple for Flat6Labs on its 1.5 year investment in the marriage matchmaking platform. With Match Group's majority investment deal, Flat6Labs had realized a full exit on its investment in Harmonica. 

“As we think about international growth and expansion, it’s impossible to ignore that there are huge populations that are not properly served by relevant matchmaking products, and a young and growing demographic mostly across Asia and the Middle East that will be looking for their life partners in the near future,” said Mandy Ginsberg, CEO of Match Group. “The Harmonica team is not only smart and innovative, but has built a highly differentiated and technologically impressive product that truly understands the needs of this culture. We believe we’ve found great talents, with local expertise and insights that will benefit from our vast experience and resources, and will help us further succeed in our international expansion strategy.”

Match Group is an internet company with a focus on different dating services outside the MENA region, and this acquisition will mark its first tailored entry into the MENA and South-East Asian markets.

Harmonica is but one of the many investments Flat6Labs has made those past eight years in 224 startups with over 500 founders from across our six offices in MENA, with total assets under management amounting to $45M.