Lydia Schoonderbeek - Afrikan Heroes

Egypt-based Cosmetics Platform Source Beauty Acquired By ECC Group

September 15, 2022

Source Beauty, the first and foremost beauty platform located in Egypt, has acquired an investment from ECC in exchange for a controlling ownership in the company.

ECC is one of the major producers of beauty and personal care products in Egypt and gives a significant potential for Source Beauty to deliver an upgraded service to its clients, including new product creation and manufacturing expertise, among others. The company provides comprehensive production and distribution services for new, scientifically-proven cosmetics in the United States. Lorax Capital Partners has just purchased a minority position in ECC and is supporting the company’s expansion efforts.

“The funds will reinforce an accelerated digital and physical marketing strategy to reach a broader customer base, enhancing customer retention and brand visibility as well as expanding the team,” Lydia Schoonderbeek, the founder and CEO of Source Beauty said. “This strategic investment by ECC is a game changer for Source Beauty and we’re all hugely excited about the future. Since Source Beauty’s inception, I have been determined to change the beauty space in Egypt to truly address the needs of the Egyptian consumer.”

Lydia will continue in her role as CEO, in addition to assuming the role of Chief Creative Officer of ECC.

“We are excited about Source Beauty’s role as part of the group and are equally excited about working with Lydia and her team to continue their journey in a market that is price sensitive and seeks sustainability.” Dr Ahmed Abo El Hamail, Co-Founder and Vice-Chairman of ECC also added, “Source Beauty’s brand and Company values make it a great fit for us. We are delighted to back Lydia, and believe that her continued role at Source Beauty as well as her new role at ECC complement the new chapter we are building for the group,” Dr Mohamed Salah, Co-Founder and CEO of ECC, said.

Lydia Schoonderbeek, Founder and CEO of Source Beauty — *Lydia Schoonderbeek is the Founder and CEO of Source Beauty*

A Look At What Source Beauty Does

Source Beauty, which debuted in 2018, is a women-led one-stop beauty shop with over 85 local and international beauty brands and 60,000 users. This marketplace offers clients an accessible, cheap option for beauty items in the nation and exposes them to products obtained from the finest raw materials by female entrepreneurs. In addition, it gives both known and growing firms with the most remarkable interactive shop window.

By 2025, the beauty sector in Egypt would have reached a market volume of $187.70 million. Customers have become less reliant on imported beauty products as a result of factors such as the increasing customs on international beauty products and the high demand for variety, giving way to domestic manufacturers. For the typical Egyptian beauty consumer, there is a pressing need to promote inclusion, sustainability, accessibility, and affordability.

“We will continue to develop and work towards becoming Egypt’s largest multi-brand online beauty retailer. We are confident that this partnership with ECC will get us there,” Lydia added.

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Egypt’s Source Beauty Secures Six-figure Seed Round Led by Geneva-based ACE & Company

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexpert

Egypt’s Source Beauty Secures Six-figure Seed Round Led by Geneva-based ACE & Company

December 29, 2020

Geneva-based ACE & Company has made a six-figure investment in Source Beauty, a leading e-commerce beauty platform. Participating in this round is also a group of angel investors that are renowned for investing in the beauty industry.

“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,” Lydia Schoonderbeek, founder and CEO of Source Beauty said.

Here Is What You Need To Know

Ace & Company’s investment in Source Beauty is the startup’s second investment round.
In May this year Source Beauty secured investment from the venture capital firm 500 Startups. Although 500 Startups did not disclose the amount involved in this round of funding, the venture capital firm is known generally to invest $150,000 in companies that take part in its Seed Accelerator programme, with the possibility of follow-on investment of up to an additional $500,000 or 20% of your next priced round of $1,000,000 or more, whichever is lower.
The startup intends to utilise the proceeds from this fundraiser to deepen its market share in the Egyptian market, increase brand marketing to drive overall awareness as well as grow its team.

“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,” Source Beauty said.

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Why The Investors Invested

“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 and Managing Director of ACE & Company said.

A Look At What Source Beauty Does

Established in 2018, Source Beauty was founded by Lydia Schoonderbeek. With its new-to-the market business model, Source Beauty has grown its sales orders seven-fold and simultaneously increased revenues nine-fold since their launch. 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.

From an economic standpoint, it is undeniable that Egypt’s beauty industry has a positive contribution to the Egyptian economy, with an anticipated market size in excess of USD 200 million. Schoonderbeek explains:

“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 personalized 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.”

“The local beauty market remains widely untapped and growing year-on-year at around 15 to 20%. Keen on shaping the market while capturing a major share, we’ve introduced monthly beauty subscription boxes, a pillar in our value proposition, providing women with high-quality local alternatives that are affordable. Later on, in the year, we look forward to having further investors who support such initiatives to join us onboard, ” Lydia further said.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer