Egyptian marketplace for homegrown beauty products has just scored a six-figure dollar seed round from Geneva-based ACE & Company and angel investors renowned for investing in the beauty industry. This investment is purposed to support Source Beauty’s mission to dominate the Egyptian beauty market. 

This marks 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 the startup’s market share in the Egyptian market, increase brand marketing to drive overall awareness and grow the team with targeted roles.

Since it launched in 2018, Cairo-based Source Beauty has expanded its business six-fold in terms of gross merchandise volume (GMV) in under 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.

“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.” 

Lydia Schoonderbeek, founder، CEO، Source Beauty

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. And with this seed round, Source Beauty is headed towards growth. In order for this growth to happen, a lot of capital has to be allocated to the team.

They are currently 15 employees and targeted to hit 25 by mid to end of 2021. They’re looking to hire positions in digital marketing predominately focusing on Growth Marketing and they’re also expanding the web development team. Source Beauty is also scanning the market for talents and qualifications to fit some C-level positions, namely a COO and a CFO.

“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”

Sherif El Halwagy, co-founder, Managing Director, ACE & Company

Founded in 2005, ACE & Company is a private investment firm that boasts a portfolio of diverse investments such as Pinterest, Techstars and Transferwise.