The African beauty industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors on the continent, driven by a burgeoning middle class, increasing urbanization, and a youthful population. This industry, which is projected to reach $65.93 billion in 2024, encompasses a wide range of products including skincare, haircare, cosmetics, and fragrances, catering to diverse beauty needs and preferences across different regions. The demand for beauty products tailored to the unique needs of African skin and hair types has led to a surge in the industry’s integration with other industries like technology.
This intersection of beauty and technology is enabling the creation of tech innovations that are transforming the way beauty products are developed, marketed, and consumed. This relationship is characterized by the use of digital platforms for e-commerce, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), and augmented reality (AR) for personalized beauty experiences to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty and the application of biotechnology in product formulation. Technology is also playing a crucial role in supply chain management and customer engagement, making beauty products more accessible and tailored to individual needs, as evidenced in new customization based beauty start-ups.
Technology in the African beauty market, supported through funding from key investors in the continent, is essential for several reasons. Accessibility is one. While digital platforms and e-commerce marketplaces like The Folklore Group have made beauty products more accessible to a wider audience, overcoming geographical limitations, many other African brands like Uncover Skincare are using technology to merge science and local indigenous ingredients.
In the spirit of continuing this ongoing evolution, here are four African beauty start-ups leading the next wave of innovation.
MYDAWA
Overview: MYDAWA was launched in 2017 to address the challenges of accessing authentic medications and health products in Kenya. The platform offers a wide range of products including prescription and over-the-counter medications, wellness products, and personal care items. It also offers a wide range of beauty products including skincare, haircare, and personal care items, making it a convenient one-stop shop for health and beauty needs.
The Kenya e-health start-up then became an e-pharmacy that uses technology to offer online and in-person skincare consultations and recommendations. The platform analyzes user data to suggest products tailored to individual skin types and concerns like acne, blemishes, etc. Additionally, MYDAWA leverages technology by allowing users to upload prescriptions directly to the platform where they are verified by licensed pharmacists, which is not entirely a standard practice in the region. This ensures that customers receive the correct medications and dosage. It also uses a secure supply chain management system to ensure all products sold on the platform are genuine and sourced directly from manufacturers. Each product comes with a QR code that users can scan to verify its authenticity.
Founder(s): MYDAWA was founded by Neil O’Leary, a seasoned business executive with extensive experience in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. O’Leary’s vision was to create a trusted platform that could provide Kenyans with easy access to safe and affordable medications, leveraging technology to overcome the challenges of counterfeit drugs and limited access to healthcare.
Funding: Raised $3 million from AAIC’s Africa Healthcare Fund (2019), $1.2 million grant funding from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, $20 million from private equity investor Alta Semper Capital (2023).
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Kasha
Overview: Kasha, launched in 2016, is a Rwanda-based e-commerce platform that focuses on women’s health and beauty products. The platform is designed to be mobile-friendly and accessible in both urban and rural areas, providing not only products but also education on women’s health and beauty care.
With a focus on women’s health, Kasha’s platform is built with a mobile-first approach, and this makes it easy for women in various regions, including those with limited internet connectivity, to access essential products. The company also uses data analytics to monitor purchasing patterns and optimize its inventory, ensuring that popular products are always available. Additionally, Kasha integrates mobile payment systems commonly used across Africa like Paystack and Flutterwave, making transactions seamless and secure.
Founder(s): Joanna Bichsel, who co-founded Kasha in 2016, has a strong background in technology and development. Prior to starting Kasha, she worked at Microsoft where she gained extensive experience in software development and project management. Bichsel’s passion for using technology to address social issues led her to create Kasha with the aim of improving access to essential health and beauty products for women in Africa.
Funding: Raised $1.5 million in seed funding (2016); $3.6 million Series A from Finnfund, Swedfund, DFC and Mastercard Corporate 2020); $21 million Series B led by Knife Capital with participation from Finnfund, DFC, Tim Koogle (ex-Yahoo CEO), Beyond Capital Ventures, Altree Capital, Bamboo Capital’s BLOC Smart Africa Fund, and Five35 Ventures.
Location: Kigali, Rwanda
Glamera
Overview: Glamera is a Saudi Arabian beauty-tech start-up launched in 2020, and built to provide an all-in-one platform for managing beauty services in the MENA region. It provides B2B services to beauty and lifestyle services providers such as beauty salons, barber shops, gyms, spas, and makeup artists. It offers a comprehensive platform that connects consumers with these beauty and wellness service providers. Through the Glamera app, users can book appointments for services like hair styling, makeup, spa treatments, and more, all in one place. The platform is designed to streamline the booking process and make beauty services more accessible and convenient for consumers across Egypt and the Middle East.
Glamera’s primary offering is its mobile app, which provides a user-friendly interface where users can browse and book beauty and wellness services from a variety of providers. The platform offers real-time availability, pricing, and reviews, allowing users to make informed decisions. The platform also tracks user preferences, past bookings, and feedback to suggest services and providers that match their needs. This data-driven approach helps enhance customer satisfaction by offering tailored recommendations.
Founder(s): Mohamed Hassan and Omar Ahmed. Hassan has a background in technology and product development, with experience working in various tech start-ups before co-founding Glamera. His expertise in building scalable tech solutions has been crucial in developing Glamera’s robust platform. Both Hassan and Ahmed come from a background in business development and marketing working with companies like EduraApp, a platform that provides a comprehensive set of features which automates the day-to-day activities of an educational institution. Their understanding of the beauty and tech market in the MENA region helped shape Glamera’s business model and market strategy. Together, they envisioned a platform that could revolutionize how beauty services are accessed and booked in the region.
Funding: Raised $1.3 million in seed funding in a round led by Riyadh Angel Investors (2023).
Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Uncover Skincare
Overview: Uncover Skincare is a Kenya-based skincare brand launched in 2020 that harnesses the merging of advanced, innovative K-beauty skincare technology in South Korea with African botanicals to create skincare formulations, working closely with a community of 100,000+ women across Africa to test these formulation to meet skincare needs. The company focuses on creating high-quality, science-backed, and tech-enabled skincare products that cater specifically to the needs of African women. Uncover Skincare combines local insights with global expertise to develop products that address common skincare concerns in the region such as hyperpigmentation, uneven skin tone, and sensitivity to harsh environmental factors.
Although the beauty brand uses science and technology in formulating its skincare products, it also uses technology to collect and store data from African women, helping them to understand their specific skincare needs. This data-driven approach ensures the products are tailored to address the unique challenges faced by their target market such as skin reactions to the intense sun or pollution.
Founder(s): Sneha Mehta, Jade Oyateru. Mehta has a background in venture capital and previously worked with start-ups across various sectors in Africa, as well as being a consultant at both McKinsey & Company and the World Bank Group. Oyateru is also an experienced consultant who has worked across many companies like Unilever and other tech-enabled platforms like Kasha and Jumia Group. Her experience in business development and passion for empowering women led her to co-found Uncover Skincare.
Funding: Raised $1 million seed funding participated by FirstCheck Africa, Samata Capital, Future Africa, and IgniteXL; $1.4 million Seed II funding round led by EQ2 Ventures and IgniteXL Ventures, with participation from Chui Ventures, Samata Capital. and Altree Capital (2024).
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
These companies exemplify how technology is revolutionizing the beauty industry in Africa, providing innovative solutions that cater to the unique needs of African consumers and contributing to the growth and dynamism of the sector.
