2 Digital Ethnic Entrepreneurship: Albanian Matchmaking across Borders on Dua.com

Abstract

This article examines how Dua.com, a dating platform founded by a Kosovo-Albanian raised in Switzerland, aims to reshape matchmaking across borders. Launched in 2020, the app explicitly markets intra-ethnic marriage, branding itself as both a tool of love and a guardian of Albanian culture. Drawing on an analysis of the platform’s self-presentation and situating this within anthropological debates on ethnicity, kinship, and transnationalism, the article shows how the app presents itself as both a co-producer of Albanian ethnic identity and a transformer of family practices. By algorithmically taking over roles once performed by kin or community matchmakers, Dua.com aims at preserving ethnic endogamy and family values while simultaneously individualizing partner choice. Features such as “Fly” and “Spotted” compress geographic distance, enabling Albanian migrants to form relationships beyond seasonal returns or family mediation. The article argues that Dua.com exemplifies digital ethnic entrepreneurship, using technology to maintain ethnic boundaries while reconfiguring kinship practices, thereby reframing family-making in a digitally embedded transnational field.