Kenyan Woman
Here is the quick list of my top three dating sites and apps in Kenya. I’ll go into more detail in my reviews later in this article.
When I first went to Kenya way back in the early 2000s, there were no popular online dating sites. The smartphone hadn’t even been invented, so there were no apps like Tinder. The most common way to meet new people was through mutual friends.
Since that time, online dating has exploded thanks to an influx of high speed fiber optic bandwidth that led to a dramatic reduction in Internet prices. More and more people in Nairobi, Mombasa and other cities across the country are connecting to the web everyday.
During my last trip to Kenya, everyone had smartphones. Many of these people were singles in search of love.
As is the case with most African countries, the majority of Kenyans still meet their romantic partners via the traditional methods of friends of the family, mutual friends, organizations, work, or school, etc; however, the Kenyan dating landscape has been changing for a while. Apps like Tinder are now mainstream.
Note that while Tinder is the most popular dating app in Tinder, I didn’t put it on this list because, while it is great if you’re looking for a short-term hookup, it’s not the best option if you’re interesting in finding a real relationship.
Having lived and worked in Kenya, I can tell you that your best success with online dating in the country will be in the big cities such as Nairobi and Mombasa where there is a larger pool of people from which to choose. If you live in a small town and are single, move to either Nairobi or Mombasa if at all possible.
Kenyans are beautiful. While traveling in and out of the country on numerous occasions during my days living in Mauritius (a small island country east of Madagascar, in the middle of the Indian Ocean), I grew an appreciation for the silky smooth brown skin tones of the people that live in this country. Nairobi and Mombasa have an electric nightlife and an infectious energy. The food is terrible and traffic can be horrific, but the upsides of warm, friendly people far outweigh the downsides.
As I advised in my article on online dating in South Africa, should you decide to sign up for the online dating sites I recommend below, be sure to read member profiles carefully as you might come across a lot of fake profiles. Usually, I can spot these profiles easily. A woman who has only one picture posted, is wearing a tight bikini and making an overly suggestive pose are usually clear signals to steer clear.
Woman from Kenya
Without further ado, here are my detailed reviews of the top three dating sites and apps in Kenya.
AfroIntroductions is an African dating site under the Cupid Media Network umbrella. Started in 2002, AfroIntroductions is now 2 million members strong, and growing. Its main member base is located in the USA, the UK, and many African countries, including Kenya, South Africa, and Ghana. Like any dating site these days, you may run across a few sketchy profiles, but if you are black or of African descent like me, or if you’re looking to meet singles in this part of the world, then this is the site for you.
AfroIntroductions.com
Sign up Process:
Signing up is quick and easy. To start, link up your Facebook account, or enter your email, gender, age and location. Share a few words about yourself, and what you’re looking for in a partner, and that’s it! You’re now free to browse other members’ profiles. Occasionally the site will prompt you to fill out more of your profile to continue, which can be bothersome if you’re not looking to complete your profile right away. Whenever this happens, however, it is only a few questions at a time, and generally speaking, I was surprised at how much you are able to do on the site with an incomplete profile.
How to Locate Potential Matches
AfroIntroductions’ browsing system is refreshingly robust, with 4 browsing options:
- Photos only
- Photos with basic information
- Photos with basic information and a short blurb
- Full profile
Searches can be highly specified. Beyond basic details like age, location, and education, you can specify body type, ethnicity, lifestyle choices (smoking, drinking, etc.), marital status, whether they have kids, religious views, even their star sign.
How to Communicate with Other Members
AfroIntroductions’ basic messaging system is simple to use, with many options for filtering. You can also “show interest” by clicking a heart icon on their profile or add them to your favorites. The site lets you know when members are online and available for Instant Messaging, and audio and video chat is also supported. These can be extremely helpful in making sure you are a good match with someone before taking the time to meet them in person. As a free member, you can read messages from premium members, but to reply to messages or send any of your own, you’ll have to upgrade.
Unique Site Features
I found the site layout clear, welcoming and well-designed. The bar up top lets you know how many members are online at any given moment, which is a nice feature. The ability to limit your browsing to Reverse Matches (members looking for someone like you) and Mutual Matches (where the both of you match each other’s criteria) is also quite helpful for finding someone you are truly compatible with.
What is Included for Each Membership Level
- Standard: Search for matches based on your preferences, send interest to any member, read messages from paying members
- Gold: Communicate with all members, audio/video chat, Instant Messaging, ad-free browsing, anonymous browsing
- Platinum: Higher ranking in searches, more profile space, extensive search features, message translating, VIP profile highlighting
Kenyan Cupid
KenyanCupid.com is a much newer site than its sister site Afrointroductions.com. It is also owned by the Cupid Media company that runs a lot of sites I have used in the past, making it a solid second choice if you have run out of options. The signup process, features, and membership levels are the same as Afrointroductions.com.
KenyanCupid is a niche dating site that narrows the focus of its larger cousin, AfroIntroductions that I mentioned above. It is also owned by the Cupid Media, making it a solid second choice if you have run out of options.
As the name suggests, this site is specifically targeted towards Kenyans. This smaller focus obviously translates to a smaller user base. Despite this however, KenyanCupid is growing rapidly in popularity.
This site has effective and vigilant anti-spam measures in place and powerful communication features for its premium members. The Gold and Platinum membership levels aren’t free, but they are well worth the investment. If you are Kenyan, or you are specifically looking for a Kenyan match, then this site is an obvious choice for you.
Sign up Process
Signing up for KenyanCupid is free and only requires your name, gender, email and a password to start. Another easier option is to simply link up your Facebook account, which will both speed up the process and ensure that KenyanCupid will not terminate your profile because of suspected activity.
To finish, briefly tell a bit about who you are, and who you’re looking for, and then you can browse the site. If you elect to leave your profile incomplete, you’ll occasionally be asked to fill out more of your profile before continuing.
How to Locate Potential Matches
Your first option is to browse KenyanCupid’s recommended matches for you. When using KenyanCupid’s match-browsing feature, you have four ways to view the presented profiles: photos only, photos with basic information, photos with basic information and a short blurb about them, and by full profiles. You can also craft detailed searches of your own, selecting between many different criteria options, and then saving your search to use again later.
How to Communicate with Other Members
As a Standard member, communication options are pretty limited. You have different options for attracting the attention of other Standard members: sending interest, adding them to your favorites, visiting their profile, or sending a “locked” (and unreadable) message. Unfortunately, none of these involve actual conversation.
To start a conversation, one of you will be forced to upgrade to a premium membership. If you decide to do so, you can choose between basic messages and audio, video and Instant Messaging chat.
Unique Site Features:
KenyanCupid’s messaging features are some of the best I’ve come across. Audio, video, and IM chats are all fantastic methods for determining your compatibility with potential matches.
There is also the option of sending video messages, which in my experience tends to get way more responses than what a simple text message would receive. With these options at my fingertips, I rarely send regular text messages anymore.
What is Included in Each Membership Level
- Standard – Create profile, upload multiple photos, browse, search, and send interest to profiles, communicate with paying members
- Gold – All of the above, plus: Unlimited communication with all members (including audio/video/IM chat), no ads, hide your profile for incognito browsing
- Platinum – All of the above, plus: Your profile ranks higher in searches, VIP profile highlighting, doubled profile space, message translating, access to advanced matching algorithms
Bumble
As a final, I recommend you sign up for Bumble. I did a full review of Bumble here.
How to Get Started:
My advice to you for getting started is to sign up for one of the sites above. Also, download Tinder. Yes I told you it’s only good for hookups, but it will give you a good quick glance at what is out there (since a lot of the members on the sites I mentioned above are also members of Tinder).
If you need help on how to set up a profile, what I recommend writing for your initial and follow up messages, when to ask the woman/man you’re interested in to go offline for a date, and more, check out my e-book, Online Dating Success: How to Find Love Anywhere in the World.
Bahati Njema! (That means “Good Luck” in Swahili).
Further Reading
Worldwide Online Dating Site Reviews: Be sure to check out my country-by-country reviews of the best online dating sites in the world.
Worldwide Moving Guide: Everything you need to know in order to plan your move to 65+ countries around the world.
Worldwide Jobs Guide: If you are interested in working in this country, be sure to check out my posts on how to find jobs in this country and other countries around the world.
Worldwide Apartments Guide: If you are interested in renting an apartment in another country, take a look at my articles on how to find an apartment in various countries around the world.
About Addison Sears-Collins
Hey! I'm Addison Sears-Collins, the founder of Visa Hunter. You can learn more about me here. Connect with me by liking my fan page on Facebook, connecting with me on Twitter, or check out my website Automatic Addison where I build robots and embedded systems.
Visahunter.com accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to the accuracy of the information contained on this site. Please read the Visitor Agreement and Disclaimer. If you think there is an error in the information, please bring it to our attention so that we can correct it. Also, some of the links above could be affiliate links, which means that I will earn a commission (at no additional cost to you) should you decide to click on the links and make a purchase. I recommend sites from time to time, not because I get a tiny commission if you click on the links and make a purchase, but because, I want you to focus on the places that will deliver you the most value and the best results. Good luck!