Kenyan skincare startup Uncover secured $1 M Seed funding, plans to expand across Africa

Uncover, a skincare start-up with headquarters in Nairobi has secured US $1 million in initial money, which it plans to use to expand its business in Kenya and build a footprint throughout Africa.

Sneha Mehta, Jade Oyateru, and Catherine Lee co-founded Uncover, a data-driven, digital-first women’s brand created expressly to address women’s health and wellbeing in Africa. Uncover was launched out of the global VC accelerator Antler.

Investors in the US $1 million seed round included many angel investors as well as FirstCheck Africa, Samata Capital, Future Africa, and IgniteXL. According to Uncover, preparations are being made to enter the Nigerian market in January 2023.

“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 CEO Sneha Mehta said.

She said that since its founding; the firm had experienced a 20x increase in monthly revenue and had amassed a devoted and active community of almost 60,000 women. This growth was fueled by the rising demand for its goods.

“The rapid traction we’ve seen in 24 months since launch is a 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,” Mehta said.

Eloho Omame, general partner and co-founder of FirstCheck Africa, expressed her delight at becoming one of Uncover’s first backers.

“Since we invested, the company’s growth has been incredible, and the team is already working on its third country entry,” she said.

“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.”