BY TOM JACKSON
Egyptian beauty e-commerce platform Source Beauty has raised an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding from 500 Startups to help it grow and expand into new markets.
Launched in 2018, Source Beauty sells beauty products at prices appropriate to the millennial market, and offers over 1,500 products from 55 different brands.
The startup, which says its sales orders had grown seven-fold and revenues nine-fold since its launch., began life as a blog through which founder Lydia Schoonderbeek reviewed beauty products, but is now planning further growth after securing funding from 500 Startups’ MENA-focused vehicle 500 Falcons.
Schoonderbeek said she was pleased to have received the funding, which would support Source Beauty on its growth journey. The strategy, she said, is to expand into regional and global markets in the next three to five years.
“Millennial consumers use social media platforms to keep up with beauty trends and for purchase motivation. Source Beauty guides them and focuses on building a personalised relationship with each of its customers’ beauty needs providing a user-friendly browsing and buying experience. Despite the current unfortunate pandemic situation, we have seen growth in our customer base and sales numbers,” she said.
“The local beauty market remains widely untapped and growing year-on-year at around 15-20 per cent. Keen on shaping the market while capturing a major share, we have introduced monthly beauty subscription boxes, a pillar in our value proposition, providing women with high-quality local alternatives that are affordable.”
Schoonderbeek said the startup planned to secure further investment within the next year to help it launch further initiatives.
500 Falcons managing partner Sharif El-Badawi said the company’s mission was to back talented entrepreneurs and help them create successful companies at scale.
“Source Beauty is one such company. Despite the current COVID-19 situation, we are delighted to have invested in this e-commerce beauty platform,” he said.
