Without Money There's No​​​​​​​ Love

Across Africa, wealthy men are willing to spend vast sums just to spend time with a woman who otherwise wouldn’t give them the time of day.

- Yonela Mgwali

It’s a transaction that happens across Africa every day. In South Africa they call them blessers; around the world they’re known as sugar daddies. Men with deep pockets exchange money and gifts for sexual favors.

It may be a transaction as old as time but it acquired the euphemism of blessing.

It all started on social media: where women post about their expensive lifestyles on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Last year, a Facebook page called BlesserFinder Mzansi (the nickname of South Africa) started – labelling itself as a travel/leisure page. This is one of hundreds of matchmaking sites for male and female blessers. And this is how it works.

The blesser sends an inbox message to the page describing the kind of person they want. They then explain the body features, age and how much allowance they are willing to pay.

The name and profile picture of the blessers are not revealed. The posts start with the words “Advert Alert”, then a screengrab of the description of what they want. Those interested respond and are hooked up.

Most of the men on the site describe themselves as travellers, who go on domestic and international trips and need women to go with them. They promise expensive clothes and shoes in return.