Aïcha (a pseudonym), 27, adjusts her beige veil while a marriage agent scrolls through dozens of photos of men on his computer, looking for the one who might suit her.

Like many young women in Kano, a large conservative Muslim city in northern Nigeria where girls often marry as young as 18, Aisha has turned to a matchmaker who offers his services online, hoping to meet the husband of her dreams: rich and educated.

Dating sites managed by an intermediary tasked with connecting the two parties are experiencing explosive growth in Kano, combining traditional methods and artificial intelligence.

"Not all men who notice you will declare their love for you, you have to use the services of an online matchmaker," the young woman explained to AFP from the offices of the Northern Halal Marriage agency, seeing it as "the best way to find true love."

Encouraged by friends who found their husbands through online dating, Aïcha, a university graduate, decided to try her luck.

Created five months ago, the site - one of the many matrimonial portals that have recently appeared in the city - has attracted 1,000 clients and claims nearly 10,000 subscribers on social networks, its founder, Jaafar Isah Shanawa, 27, told AFP.

- Custom-made -

With four employees, the platform guarantees the confidentiality of its clients by modifying their photos using artificial intelligence and changing their first and last names.

The hidden information and images are only revealed to interested clients who visit the agency after paying the registration fee.

"Our clients are mostly elite, professionals and business leaders," according to Mr. Shanawa.

Because of cultural norms, "men are afraid to approach women on the street because they want to be perceived as respectful and honest," he says from his office.

"The fact that we operate online makes things simpler and more accessible to many people," says the founder of Northern Halal Marriage.

Muhammad Siraj Suleiman has been a client of the platform for a month and is looking for a second wife. Mr. Shanawa put him in contact with two women, but neither met his expectations.

"I was given a third contact and we started dating, hoping that we would understand each other and get married," explains Mr. Suleiman.

Customers pay fees ranging from $6 to $54 depending on the subscription, with rates adjusting to the social status and education level of the desired partner.

The subscription expires after three months and customers must re-register if they have not found their desired partner.

- "Queen of Matchmakers" -

In Hausa society, it is strongly recommended to check the lineage and morality of one's future spouse before marriage.

The city's imams frequently demand medical examinations to determine everyone's state of health.

Online platforms, like Mr. Shanawa's, simply connect men and women without carrying out these checks.

"When our clients meet and feel they are a good match, our work stops there. It is then up to them to carry out their own background checks and medical examinations," explains Mr. Shanawa.

Arranged marriages have been a tradition in Kano and other northern regions for generations.

Today, this practice extends beyond family circles: parents entrust photos of their daughters to intermediaries to find them a husband.

Population growth and professional pressures are making arranged marriages more popular, attracting an increasing number of families, according to Asabe Abba Yarmaishinkafi, a marriage agent in Kano for 25 years.

Kano has about 16 million inhabitants, making it the second most populous state in Nigeria after Lagos.

"It seems like there are more women than men and they all want to get married," jokes Ms. Yarmaishinkafi.

Unlike online platforms, it conducts "thorough checks", offers marriage advice and resolves marital disputes, all for four dollars.

Thanks to this rigorous monitoring, she has enabled more than a thousand couples to form and only 11 unions that she facilitated have resulted in a divorce, says the self-proclaimed "queen of matchmakers", a record in this state where the divorce rate is one of the highest in the country.

Anwar Dahiru Abdulmalik, a 25-year-old trader, is looking for a wife two years his junior, tall, fair-skinned, and from the middle class.

"I like the one they just showed me and she corresponds to the age range I'm looking for," he said after looking at dozens of photos.

"But I have to wait until I meet her in person to see if we are compatible," the young man added.