Uncover, a skincare company, recently closed a Ksh 180 million (USD 1.4 million) Seed II funding round led by EQ2 Ventures and IgniteXL Ventures. The round was led 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.
EQ2 Ventures is a Dubai-based investment company that invests across innovative B2B and B2C tech-enabled businesses in the Middle East and Africa. Based in Silicon Valley, IgniteXL Ventures 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 and expand to new markets. The funding will also help the company continue to leverage data to build a leading skincare brand made with melanin rich skin in mind. Since their launch in the African market, Uncover has seen demand for their products not only from Africa, but also from diaspora populations globally.
Commenting on their latest investment, Patrick Thiriet from EQ2 Ventures stated, “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 and beauty brand for Africa and are looking forward to helping them in this journey.”
On her part, Sneha Mehta, oo-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.”