The ‘hook-up’ game is over – new local dating platform launches

When Katlego Ramagaga and Refiloe Rakwena heard that the dating life of their family and friends was taking a knock during lockdown, they were touched. They were not going to sit back and do nothing about it. They decided to come up with a dating service and there couldn’t be a better name for it than Stryke Dating because you can get love at first strike.

The co-founders say: ”We put our heads together and decided to offer singles a safe and innovative solution of virtual dating,” adding that from there on, the natural progression was to supplement that offering using foresight into what “the new normal” may look like three to five years post the pandemic.

Refiloe explains that they set into motion in January and the reception has been overwhelming. Besides building team connections using principles of love in a corporate setting to get teams gelling and productive, their product offering includes virtual speed dating, in person speed dating and personalised matchmaking.

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But ultimately Stryke is targeted at singles who are looking for genuine love and long-standing relationships. “This isn’t a place where people who are still in the game or want to ‘hook up’ can come and find potential hook up partners,” Refiloe says, adding that they work with singles between the ages of 23-55.

Katlego interjects and says, “This service is absolutely 100% single – not those who just think they are single, but people who are coming with an open heart and an open mind.”

Refiloe explains what sets Stryke Dating apart from the many mushrooming dating services. “This the first market dating service involving 100% human interaction end to end.  We are not an app and we don’t use an algorithm to get people together but focus on authentic human connection and chemistry.”

But Katlego admits the challenges have been that they have more females who are looking for love and putting themselves out there. “The gentlemen seem to be interested but a lot of them mention that they are shy so we are learning to integrate more intimate events which will allow everyone to be comfortable and able to get out of their shells,” she explains.

Above that, they are learning that the LBGTQI+ singles make up a wide spectrum, thus they need to curate events to suit those needs. They plan on growing in South Africa and then spread their wings to the African continent.

Dating services can be breeding ground for sex pests and cat fishers, how do they ensure the safety of their users? “Our team screens all of our singles to varying degrees, depending on the type of event and package which the user would have purchased. Furthermore, we also encourage daters not to reveal any real information about themselves on the first date and instead, use the fun names or numbers provided by us to make sure that we don’t have any stalker mission or dangerous situations,” Refiloe reveals.

If you are looking for some responsible dating, then follow them on @StrykeDating on Instagram Facebook, Twitter and YouTube or visit www.stryke.africa

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