AI MEETS TRADITION AS ONLINE MATCHMAKING BOOMS IN KANO
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Aisha adjusted her beige veil over her circular headgear as a matchmaker scrolled through dozens of photographs on a computer screen, searching for a man who might become her future husband.
In Kano, northern Nigeria’s conservative commercial hub, many women marry as early as 18. But after waiting years for a suitor, Aisha — a pseudonym — decided to try a different approach: an online matchmaking service that blends tradition with technology.
Inside the office of Northern Halal Marriage, one of several digital matchmaking platforms springing up across the city, the soft-spoken college graduate said she hopes to find a husband who is both educated and financially stable.
“This is the right place to ask for help in finding a person to marry,” she told AFP. “It is not every man who sees you that will express his love. Online is the best way to find true love.”
Digital twist to a long tradition
Matchmaking has long been part of Hausa culture in northern Nigeria. Traditionally, families, friends, or community matchmakers would introduce potential spouses after conducting background checks on lineage, morality and family reputation.
Over time, the practice expanded. Parents began presenting photographs of daughters without suitors to trusted intermediaries to help secure marriage proposals.
Today, that age-old system is migrating online.
Jaafar Isah Shanawa, 27, CEO of the five-month-old Northern Halal Marriage platform, said the site has already attracted 1,000 registered clients and about 10,000 followers across social media.
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With a four-member team, the platform uses artificial intelligence to modify clients’ photographs and conceal identities. Real names and unedited images are only disclosed after interested parties visit the office and pay a registration fee.
“Men are afraid to speak to women on the streets because they think they are respectful people of integrity,” Shanawa said. “Searching for love online makes it easier and accessible to a lot of people.”
Subscription packages, renewable every three months, range from $6 to $54, depending on the social class and educational level of the desired match. Shanawa said most of his clients are professionals and business owners.
Searching for companionship
Among them is 41-year-old university lecturer Muhammad Siraj Suleiman, who is seeking a second wife.
He has met two women through the platform but said neither matched his expectations. Now, he has begun courtship with a third prospect.
“I have been given a third contact and we have started courtship,” Suleiman said.
However, unlike traditional matchmakers, Shanawa’s platform does not conduct background or medical checks — a significant element in Kano marriages, where imams often insist on medical screening before weddings.
“When our clients meet and feel they are a match, our job stops there,” Shanawa explained. “It then becomes their responsibility to make background and medical checks.”
The “queen of matchmaking”
For Asabe Abba Yarmaishinkafi, a 25-year veteran matchmaker and head of an 85-member association in Kano, the surge in online platforms reflects changing social realities.
“With population growth and the pressure of work limiting socialisation, matchmaking has become more popular and is attracting more people,” she said.
Kano, with an estimated population of 16 million, is Nigeria’s second most populous state after Lagos.
“It seems like there are more women than men and they all want to get married. That’s why matchmaking expanded online,” said Yarmaishinkafi, 50, a mother of five.
Unlike newer platforms, she conducts thorough background checks, provides marriage counselling and even mediates disputes — charging a one-off fee of $4. Known locally as the “queen of matchmaking,” she says she has matched over 1,000 couples, with only 11 divorces — a notable achievement in a city reported by the Hisbah morality police to have one of Nigeria’s highest divorce rates.
Her business has also embraced technology. Parents now send their daughters’ photographs via WhatsApp, which she presents to prospective grooms.
Balancing expectations
On a recent visit to her office, 25-year-old trader Anwar Dahiru Abdulmalik carefully examined dozens of photographs, seeking a bride two years younger, tall, fair-complexioned and from a middle-class background.
“This one… is appealing to me and she is within the age bracket,” he said, pointing at one image.
“But I have to wait until we meet in person and see if we match.”
As Kano’s matchmaking industry evolves, the blend of AI tools, smartphones and centuries-old customs appears to be reshaping how love — and marriage — are negotiated in one of Nigeria’s most traditional cities.
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