LunchMatcher: The UAE's Innovative and Unique Business App to Grow Your Professional Network

The new mobile app is an innovative medium to connect with like-minded professionals in your area.

Dubai, UAE, December 21, 2015:  The proliferation of smartphones and tablets has had a huge impact on app consumption in the UAE. A recent study suggests that UAE controls 60 per cent of mobile phone applications development in the Middle East. Though UAE has one of the highest smartphone penetration rates in the world, there have been no instances of mobile application for professional networking over lunch. To fill in this gap, LunchMatcher, UAE’s very first lunchtime business networking app has been developed to connect with like-minded professionals in your area. 

LunchMatcher is a free, easy to use app that helps you expand your professional network by making new connections with interesting people working near you. This business networking app helps you meet new professionals in your area for lunch every day. The app utilizes the LinkedIn API for your public profile and geo-location to determine where you are and then suggests targeted matches in the area. Using this app, finding a potential client or business partner could be as easy as having a sandwich! No matter where your business takes you, LunchMatcher will help you get the most out of your surroundings. Best of all, it is available immediately for both Android phones and iPhones and optimized for Dubai.

Commenting on the launch of the new app, Aiman Kabli, Co-founder at LunchMatcher said, “As the UAE is known for its strong and progressive business environment, there has always been a need for more ways to connect the professionals in the country in fruitful and productive ways. Being an HR professional myself, especially in this region, the value of having a strong network cannot be over-emphasized. I got used to having lunch alone and saw so many people also eating by themselves around me but had no easy way to connect with them. One day, I decided to find a solution to make better use of this daily time slot for expanding my professional network -- it was then that the LunchMatcher idea was born. In developing LunchMatcher, I believe that we are giving professionals another way of making valuable connections and growing their network. We are positive that this unique app will be a great tool for thousands of professionals who experience the distress of dull/repetitive lunches with the same group of colleagues every day.”

The app boasts many innovative tools such as accurate radius selection, full listing of nearby lunch venues at any location, time-based settings and advanced matching algorithms. The app takes care of the whole process after initial setting, where it matches users and gives them a chance to confirm the meeting, then picks a nearby venue for them to meet and shares all the relevant details. After your lunch meeting, the app also offers a unique rating system to rate your experience with the person you met as well the lunch venue. 

“LunchMatcher is a brilliant business networking app. Initially, I was a little reluctant to try this, but then I realized that the app is a polished and advanced business networking solution unlike many others that promise to be so. Its value-added features such as time and location matching, individual and venue ratings, and the LinkedIn connection make it very safe and professional. I have been fortunate to find myself a great client through LunchMatcher recently. As a business professional, I would recommend the entire business community in the UAE to experience and benefit from this one-of-a-kind app,” said Yousef Hammoda, a dedicated user of LunchMatcher.

LunchMatcher’s main goal is to make it easy for users to expand their connections, accelerate serendipity, and tap into new potential opportunities. Available on both Android and iOS platforms, the app has over 500 users in the Dubai area alone and aims to reach out to 2,000 professionals in the coming six months. While the app focuses only on the UAE market at present, it will also expand its reach to several cosmopolitan cities in the region by end of 2016.