Skincare firm, Uncover successfully closes oversubscribed $1.4m funding round

By Isaac OGANGA

Uncover, Africa’s emerging beauty brand, successfully closed a $1.4m Seed II funding round led by EQ2 Ventures and IgniteXL Ventures, with participation from Chui Ventures, Samata Capital and Altree Capital.

As part of the round, Uncover also facilitated a significant secondary transaction to accommodate investors’ demand.

Sneha, CEO (ex-Helios, McKinsey, Merrill, LSE; CFA), Jade, COO (ex-Unilever, Nestle, Kasha, Jumia, Imperial College; MBA.

• EQ2 Ventures is a Dubai-based investment company that invests across innovative B2B and B2C tech-enabled businesses in the Middle East & Africa.
• IgniteXL Ventures, based in Silicon Valley, is a global fund dedicated to fueling innovation at the intersection of health, technology, and consumer experiences. IgniteXL Ventures participated in Uncover’s seed round and has followed-on to co-lead the company’s round.
• Chui Ventures is an Africa based investment company that backs exceptional African startups at the early stage of their growth.

The round brings together global and local investors to support the Uncover team in their plans to further build their tech platform, launch new products, expand to new markets and continue to leverage data to build the leading skincare brand made with melanin rich skin in mind.

Uncover has seen demand for their products not only from Africa, but also from diaspora populations globally and is actively working on partnerships in key diaspora markets in North America.

Patrick Thiriet from EQ2 Ventures said: “We’ve been following Uncover since the early days, and I must say we kept on being impressed by Sneha and Jade. As investors in several consumertech businesses over the last 8 years, we’ve rarely seen such a combination of clarity in the vision and maturity in the execution.

We believe Uncover’s team has what’s required to build a leading skincare & beauty brand for Africa and are looking forward to helping them in this journey.”

Claire Chang from IgniteXL Ventures said: “We are incredibly impressed with Uncover’s use of data and technology to understand their core customer’s needs. By adopting a data-centric approach, Uncover has built one of Africa’s most engaged, loyal digital communities.

Africa’s beauty and wellness sector is poised for substantial growth and Uncover is disrupting the sector with the first brand made by and for women in Africa.”

Sneha Mehta, Co-Founder and CEO of Uncover said, “Uncover is much more than a skincare brand. We are a movement to prioritize women of color who have been side-lined by the beauty industry for generations.

The industry has represented only a few skin tones in testing and we are one of the first brand’s testing on women in Africa. Our data-driven products combined with   a tech platform focused personalization have fueled the company’s growth.

What’s exciting is that we are starting in Africa but seeing global demand and opportunity for our solution.”

Jade Oyateru, Co-Founder and COO of Uncover said, “We are delighted to partner with a remarkable group of investors who share our vision for the future of women’s skincare and wellness, both on the continent and beyond. They bring a wealth of experience in this industry.

This funding will empower us to unlock our next stage of growth, expand our product portfolio, enhance our technology, and reach even more consumers seeking personalized skincare solutions.”

World’s fastest growing market

The African beauty market is the world’s fastest growing market according to McKinsey’s 2023 global beauty report, growing 2x the world’s average.

The continent will be home to the biggest youth population in the next 15 years and yet, the market has been underserved and neglected in both products and knowledge.

Today, you find multi-nationals that are simply import plays or niche brands. Uncover is listening to the voice of its customers, leveraging data and tech to disrupt this world’s fastest growing beauty market.

Uncover, strong of its loyal and highly engaged digital community of 200,000+ women across Kenya, Nigeria, and the diaspora, has grown its revenue 10x in the last 24 months since their last funding round.

The growth was underpinned by their successful expansion to Nigeria, launch of new data-driven products made specifically with melanin rich skin women in mind, and investments in their tech platform.

The cross-pollination between online and offline are critical to scaling within the African beauty market. Uncover leverages an omni-channel approach: Online, building a strong consumer tech platform driven by data to ensure an optimal product discovery, customer education and personalized offering.

Offline, the company has built partnerships with top retailers to drive visibility, trust, and availability.