Uncover successfully closes Sh180m seed funding round

Jade Oyateru, Co-Founder and COO of Africa Uncover and Sneha Mehta, Co-Founder and CEO. [Nanjinia Wamuswa, Standard]

Emerging beauty brand Uncover has successfully closed a $1.4 million (Sh180 million) Seed II funding round led by EQ2 Ventures and IgniteXL Ventures, with participation from Chui Ventures, Samata Capital and Altree Capital.

The skincare firm was founded in Kenya three years ago and has now expanded to Nigeria, Uganda, and recently Ghana with plans to set up shop in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

As part of the round funding, uncover facilitated a significant secondary transaction to accommodate investors' demand.

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.

The investors include EQ2 Ventures, a Dubai-based investment firm that invests across innovative B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business-to-consumers) tech-enabled businesses in the Middle East and Africa and 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. Another investor is Chui Ventures, an Africa-based investment company that backs exceptional African start-ups at the early stage of their growth.

Uncover has seen demand for its products grow, 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 says they have monitored Uncover since its early days and are impressed.

"We've been following Uncover since the early days, and I must say we kept on being impressed. As investors in several consumer tech businesses over the last eight 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 and beauty brand for Africa, and are looking forward to helping them in this journey," Thiriet says.

Claire Chang from IgniteXL Ventures lauded Uncover's use of data and technology to understand their core customers' needs.

Co-founder and CEO of Uncover Sneha Mehta said they will prioritise women of colour who have been side-lined by the beauty industry for generations.