Plans to expand in India with the help of actress Priyanka Chopra

new york
cnn business
,

Bumble is the latest online dating app to compete for the hearts of women in India.

Bumble, which requires women to make the first move, on Wednesday announced plans to launch in India later this year. Indian celebrity Priyanka Chopra, a new investor in the company, will advise on the expansion.

The news comes less than a week after rival Tinder launched the My Move feature in India that gives women the option to block men from initiating conversations.

But Bumble’s efforts to expand in India have been going on for some time. Founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd said Chopra, who was recently engaged, told her months ago that “Indian women need Bumble”. Chopra was among a group of high-profile women who helped Bumble launch its networking app, Bumble Bizz, in October 2017.

“It was clear then that we shared a passion for empowering young women on a global scale,” Wolfe Herd told CNN in an e-mail. “From there we started planning to partner with Bumble and launch it in India.”

Wolf Herd said the challenge of entering the Indian market is “localizing the experience and attracting women” – an area in which Chopra will help.

Chopra’s manager Anjula Acharya is also an investor and advisor. Acharya helped Chopra – who was already established in India – rise to fame in the United States. But Acharya has a long history of crossover efforts. She was instrumental in introducing artists like Britney Spears and Lady Gaga to India – a background that could help Acharya Bumble connect with local audiences.

Bumble’s local app will be in both Hindi and Hinglish – a blend of Hindi and English – and will be available on iOS and Android. It will also implement new security features before entering the area, which is notorious for violence against women. In June, India was described as the most dangerous country in the world for women.

Wolfe Herd said it would require Indian women to provide only their first initials – no first or last names – and provide new ways to report “bad behaviour” in the app.

Bumble already has photo verification features and more than 4,000 content moderators who review photos and profiles.

Prior to Bumble, Wolfe Herd was an early employee and executive at Tinder, but left the company in 2014 after suing her for sexual harassment and discrimination. Eventually the matter was resolved.

But public litigation between Tinder’s parent company, Bumble, and Match Group has resulted in increased tensions between the two dating companies.

In March, Match Group sued Bumble, accusing the company of patent infringement and stealing trade secrets. Bumble asked the court last week to dismiss the case.

Separately, Bumble filed a counter-lawsuit against Match Group. Bumble argues that Match Group is using the litigation as revenge over failed takeover talks. Both the cases are going on.

While Bumble already operates in over 160 countries, India is an important market due to its size. According to a report by Bain & Company, India has 390 million internet users, the second highest number of internet users of any country after China.