Nairobi-based skincare firm, Uncover has raised USD 1 million (Ksh120 million) in seed capital, which it will use to scale up its operations in Kenya and establish a presence across Africa, the company has disclosed.
Key investors include FirstCheck Africa, Samata Capital, Future Africa, IgniteXL as well as a number of angel investors.
“Since we invested, the company’s growth has been incredible, and the team is already working on its third country entry. FirstCheck Africa is thrilled to have been one of Uncover’s earliest backers,” FirstCheck Africa Co-Founder & General Partner Eloho Omame said.
The Company said plans were underway to expand into the Nigerian market in January 2023. Nigeria, one of the continent’s major beauty and personal-brand markets, values at N1 trillion (Ksh277 billion), according to a report by Euromonitor.
“We are so proud of this important milestone in our journey and couldn’t be more excited to have our new investors as partners. The funds will be used to fund the launching of more products, going into additional markets and also improving on our tech and data to effectively produce, reach and market to our audience,” Uncover co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Sneha Mehta said.
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Uncover Co-Founder and Chief Operations Officer Jade Oyateru said the goal of the Company Is to ensure women across Africa have access to safe, effective, and affordable skincare that’s specifically made to target their skin concerns.
“We are making African women a priority and not an afterthought. I am excited that this investment will aid our expansion plans to markets on the continent,” Ms Oyateru said.
Ms Mehta said since launch the startup’s revenue had grown many-fold, buoyed by the growing demand for its products, recording 20x growth in monthly revenue and garnered a loyal and highly engaged community of almost 60,000 women.
“The rapid traction we’ve seen in 24 months since launch is testament to the need for healthy, safe and affordable women’s health products specifically made for women of color combined with digitally enabled customer education and product discovery tools,” Ms Mehta said.
Uncover, born out of a global VC accelerator (Antler) is a data-driven, digital-first women’s brand made specifically to address women’s health and wellness in Africa – the world’s fastest-growing but most underserved beauty personal care market.
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Uncover uses African botanicals and outsources its manufacturing to the Republic of Korea (South Korea) – one of the world’s biggest beauty markets, where it is leveraging the country’s top-notch technology, labs and scientists to create stable testing, safe ingredients and formulations for its products.
“By doing so, we have ensured that our products are healthy, safe, nourishing, affordable and effective and specifically made for women in Africa,” Ms Oyateru said.
Uncover was co-founded by Mehta and Jade Oyateru (Chief Operations Officer), and Catherine Lee (advisor), who were inspired to build a data-driven, digital-first health and wellness brand for the African woman by leveraging their experience and expertise.
Mehta has over 10 years’ experience helping businesses scale across Africa, while Oyateru is a nutritionist and consumer goods expert. Lee is an economist turned filmmaker.
“Sneha, Jade and Catherine are an impressive trio of ambitious female entrepreneurs building a differentiated, first-of-its-kind company in Africa. Uncover’s products are an innovative blend of Korean skincare technology and African ingredients, and the founders are leveraging data and community to build a category leader with global potential,” Ms. Omame concluded.
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