A SOFTWARE developer in Johannesburg has taken the time-honoured African tradition of paying a bride price into the tech age. He designed an app to calculate the woman’s value.

Anyone weighing up whether to ask for a woman’s hand can enter her stats into 26-year-old Kopo Robert Matsaneng’s Lobola Calculator and it churns out her value in rands, and tells you how many cows that would equate to.

The price can also be converted into pounds, euros and dollars on the app.

The app considers the person’s age, height, weight, waist size, and how attractive they are: ranging from “not at all” to “really hot”.

The prospective groom must also enter what qualifications the woman has, whether she has a job, whether she’s been married before and whether she’s got children.

“This is a fun app to calculate how much lobola you’re worth,” Matsaneng says in the app’s introduction. “It’s simple, fun and meant to be playful, so enjoy.”

Lobola is a tradition practised in many parts of Africa, where a man’s family approaches a woman’s relatives to propose marriage and to negotiate a bride price.

The custom symbolises a coming together of the two families. Lobola was historically paid in livestock, a symbol of wealth, but now it often includes other goods and money.

Cooking skills

While most users liked the app, some objected that it was not in tune with the true value of lobola, Matsaneng said on the app’s site. “Some people are already too angry about the concept,” he responded to queries requesting more valuation criteria, such as cooking and alcohol intake.

The app also maps out the average lobola values in South Africa’s different provinces as well as in Lesotho and Swaziland. The highest is R100 000, or 12 cows, in Lesotho and Swaziland. The lowest is R35 000, or 5 cows, in the South Africa’s arid Northern Cape province.

“A day without laughs is a day wasted,” Matsaneng said in an e-mailed response to questions. – Bloomberg

source:http://www.iol.co.za/business/news/fun-app-to-calculate-price-of-your-bride-to-be-as-lobola-1.1808807#.VM0Qa8luP_Q

cc odumchi, bigfrancis21, Fulaman198

Mehnnnn.......see money!!! With dis app, My parents don hammer be dat oo . Cool app

Haha. Did the test for when I got married and now

Then== 8 cows and one million naira

Now == 5 cows and 600 thousand naira (Chei! I have suffered!!)

Now factoring my husband--- 8 cows again. Na wa o! Thanks God I'm yoruba. No stupid bride price.

Ochiban:
Haha. Did the test for when I got married and now
Then== 8 cows and one million naira
Now == 5 cows and 600 thousand naira (Chei! I have suffered!!)
Now factoring my husband--- 8 cows again. Na wa o! Thanks God I'm yoruba. No stupid bride price.

Some children I know will be lucky to be worth 1 chicken better than God for ur life

i will refer this app to those that need it.