Source Beauty, the leading e-commerce Beauty platform, has landed a six-figure seed round of investment, led by Geneva-based ACE & Company and angel investors that are renowned for investing in the beauty industry.
This is Source Beauty’s second investment round, having previously raised an undisclosed sum from the global venture capital firm 500 Startups. Proceeds from this fundraiser will be used to deepen its market share in the Egyptian market, increase brand marketing to drive overall awareness and grow the team with targeted roles.
Entrepreneurship in MENA has experienced significant growth in recent years. Breakthroughs in digital solutions by startups have played a key role in drawing the attention of angel investors and private investment firms to support local agile businesses that have shown innovation in bolstering the national economy.
Lydia Schoonderbeek, founder and CEO of Source Beauty, expressed her appreciation to the second round investors: “We are thrilled to be working with this prestigious group of investors to help strategically grow our brand even further. Their investment in Source Beauty is a testament to their conviction that we are a promising business in an underserved, yet growing market. I am pleased with our performance and journey to date, and look forward to continuing listening and addressing our customers’ needs.”
Sherif El Halwagy, co-founder and Managing Director of ACE & Company, said: “It is always refreshing to meet and listen to entrepreneurs and startups with the vision and potential to cause genuine change in the market. This investment reflects the extent of ACE’s attention given to emerging businesses that contribute to the empowerment of women and to the support of local suppliers. We look forward to seeing Source Beauty grow multiple folds in the next period.”
Lydia added: “With the help of this new funding, we will be able to continue our growth and to power additional brands that respond to our customers’ needs. We will build a stronger team, hire new talent, have more marketing muscle and continue to invest in new technologies. We will continue to focus on our value proposition to our customers and address existing gaps in the market in terms of organic Fairtrade beauty and local alternatives.”
Since its launch in 2018, Cairo-based Source Beauty has expanded its business six-fold in terms of gross merchandise volume (GMV) in less than two years. Today, the e-commerce platform has increased its offering to 80 brands with more than 3,500 individual products that include local and international players in the beauty industry.
Source Beauty gives an opportunity to like-minded women who want to improve the beauty industry in Egypt, seeking to meet their needs and provide long-lasting quality products from local sources with diverse uses. Source Beauty also plays an important role in inspiring and empowering women.
Earlier this year, Source Beauty secured pre-seed funding that went towards expanding the platform’s marketing activities, resulting in a ten-fold increase in the customer base.
