- Uncover, a Kenyan-based beauty startup, has raised $1.4 million in Seed II funding to fuel its expansion goals, moving into Ghana, Uganda, and the United States.
- EQ2 Ventures and IgniteXL Ventures led the round with Chui Ventures, Samata Capital, and Altree Capital participating.
This comes after Uncover raised $1 million in seed funding in 2022 to scale operations and expand to Nigeria. In 2021, it raised $100,000 in pre-seed funding.
Sneha Mehta (CEO), Jade Oyateru (COO), and Catherine Lee co-founded Uncover in 2021 for personalised skincare using a data-driven approach to create skincare products, leveraging K-Beauty technology and innovation.
The CEO said its data-driven products and digital platform with personalisation integration have fuelled the company’s growth. She also said the brand is committed to prioritising “women of colour” side-lined by the beauty industry over time, claiming they are one of the first brands testing on women in Africa.
“What’s exciting is that we are starting in Africa but seeing global demand and opportunity for our solution.”
Uncover boasts a digital community of over 200,000 women across Kenya, Nigeria, and the diaspora. Its revenue reportedly increased 10x last year since it channelled its funding round into Nigeria’s expansion and the launch of new data-driven products.
It is building online with a consumer tech platform for product discovery, customer education, personalised offering, and offline with partnerships with retailers.
Its distribution is through its eCommerce platform and retail partnerships with pharmaceutical chains like Goodlife and Medplus in Kenya and Nigeria.
Oyateru stated that the funding will empower the startup to unlock its next stage of growth, expand its product portfolio, enhance technology, and reach more consumers.
Uncover is not the only African beauty company attracting investors, and looking to expand into the continent and beyond. Zuri, already present in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and Rwanda, received investment from Launch Africa Ventures in April to expand across Africa and Europe.
In January 2024, another Egypt-based beauty startup, Mira, secured $200,000 from Wingoo Investment and Technology to expand its customer base.
These startups strive to share in Africa’s beauty and personal care market, with revenue predicted to reach $65.93 billion in 2024 and an annual growth rate of 5.99%, reaching $83.19 billion by 2028.
