Jade Oyateru
As COO and Co-founder of Uncover Skincare, Jade Oyateru has built a brand that is both proudly African and globally relevant. A science-backed brand combining Korean skincare technology with African botanicals to serve melanin-rich skin, Uncover has been recognised by Bloomberg, Vogue Business and KPMG as an innovator to watch and is among the fastest-scaling independent beauty brands in Africa.
Jade Oyateru
As COO and Co-founder of Uncover Skincare, Jade Oyateru has built a brand that is both proudly African and globally relevant. A science-backed brand combining Korean skincare technology with African botanicals to serve melanin-rich skin, Uncover has been recognised by Bloomberg, Vogue Business and KPMG as an innovator to watch and is among the fastest-scaling independent beauty brands in Africa.
Sometimes, being a COO feels like a big game. You set profitability targets, and you're just so focused on trying to hit those targets. But sometimes I pause and just think - wow. My co-founder and I have actually done this. And it’s huge.
Jade is speaking about her experience creating and leading Uncover Skincare, a beauty brand and highly successful start-up. “At the time, I think we were the only beauty brand on the continent with venture capital funding,” she says. “Investors were so focused on tech.”
Founded in 2021 via the Antler accelerator, Uncover was built to solve a problem. Women with melanin-rich skin make up the majority of the world, but global beauty doesn’t cater for them. Gaps in research, product design and representation have resulted in a landscape where consumers face limited choices, ineffective solutions and, in some cases, unsafe products. Uncover is changing that.
In just four years, the company has generated multi-million-dollar revenues, built a strong social media following, and secured distribution across hundreds of retail locations across Africa and the Caribbean. Products include an invisible sunscreen developed specifically for darker skin tones, as well as serums with a loyal fan base. Products include a no-white-cast, glow-finish sunscreen developed for melanin-rich skin, as well as serums designed with climate-appropriate packaging to protect active ingredients and ensure efficacy in humid environments.
So how did Uncover develop? Did the idea come first, or did Jade always want to start her own company?
“Actually,” she smiles, “when I was really young, I wanted to be a supermodel. So there was definitely some interest in beauty.” But an interest in science – specifically health – took over, and Jade, who grew up in Lagos, decided to study for a BSc in Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Surrey. On graduating, she took on roles in nutrition, sales and marketing at Nestle and Unilever, before relocating to Kenya. Here, as a senior brand manager, she felt she’d reached a career plateau, and needed to learn more in order to progress.
“I was very excited about climbing the corporate ladder. But I knew I wanted to be a high commercial leader or CEO,” she says. “And I knew that I needed an MBA if I really wanted to reach that trajectory.”
Reaching the next level
Jade signed up for the Global MBA at Imperial. “It was one of the best times,” she says. “I absolutely love learning from my classmates and colleagues. But most importantly, it gave me exposure to the startup ecosystem. I got really excited about that. We had to invent our own startup, come up with all the different aspects. Think about the consumer canvas, and what channels you're selling to. That was just so exciting.
“We got to learn about how other people had brought something to life. I think for me, that's where ideas really started to spark. But I knew I wasn’t ready to start my own business yet – I wanted to join a startup.”
When Jade finished her MBA, she joined Jumia, one of Africa’s leading e-commerce platforms, often described as the “Amazon of Africa” – the final stepping stone before finally joining her co-founder to build her own company.
Uncovering opportunity
Growing up, Jade watched her father grow and run a successful engineering business for over 45 years. So she had some insight into what it takes to build a company from scratch. “I saw how hard he worked every day. Sometimes you think entrepreneurship gives you flexibility, but it’s actually 24/7.” With the hard work, she knew there would be rewards.
Jade with her parents at graduation
Jade with her parents at graduation
I saw the benefits of being an entrepreneur, of making the right decisions, and how fulfilling it is, and the impact you can have on people's lives, the jobs that we're creating. I think it's amazing.
Along with entrepreneur Sneha Mehta, Jade co-founded Uncover in 2021. She considers it a full-circle moment that a highly regarded finance and commercial leader and friend she studied alongside during her MBA at Imperial, Dolapo Ola later chose to join Uncover as Head of Finance, bringing deep financial rigour to the business. Since then, the team has grown to over fifty employees across East and West Africa, and they work with botanical experts to source natural African botanicals to combine with the latest Korean skincare formulations and manufacturing expertise.
“We’ve worked with botanical experts on the continent for years. And we test and adapt our products for skin type and tone, which is important.”
We are creating products for melanin skin, not adapting existing products.
As part of their branding, every product features an affirmation – I am beautiful, or I am radiant. For Jade, it’s about more than selling products. “I'm very passionate about the next generation of women that we're raising. As a business, I think it’s important to ensure that women and girls grow up empowered with education, knowledge, the information to make good decisions – not just about skincare, but about life in general. We are driving a narrative.”
A significant majority of the team is female. “They understand it”, she says, and pauses. “I know at some point I need to diversify but for now, we are a female-led business, built for women, and that has been incredibly powerful for our culture and mission.”
Part of the Uncover team at a 2025 retreat in Kenya
Part of the Uncover team at a 2025 retreat in Kenya
Progress over perfection
What advice would Jade give to future business leaders – especially young women?
“Something that has stuck with me for the longest time is progress over perfection. When I was younger, if you asked me to create a presentation, it would take me two weeks to put together a beautiful deck. But ‘progress over perfection’ sits with me in every area of what I do.”
Don't sit on things if you have an idea, just start, learn and adjust as you go, and make things better.
She also highlights the importance of prioritisation. “The second thing that I've learned a lot about as an entrepreneur is focus. It's so easy to get distracted. There are a lot of ‘shiny objects’ - a lot of opportunities that seem exciting. I quickly realised that not having focus pulls you in all directions, and then you lose track of what's important.”
Lastly, Jade’s advice is to build a network, something she has been able to do throughout her career, and at Imperial. “This journey can be quite lonely, so every time I'm stuck, it's easy to just ask another founder, what do you think? It’s great to get ideas from other people who have done it. You’d be surprised how much help a network can give.”
Taking beauty forwards
There’s no typical day at Uncover – Jade might have to be up at 2am for an international call. A student graduating from high school recently asked to shadow her for ten days. Jade smiles “I thought – be prepared!”
The company’s short pathway to success has been characterised by numerous accolades. Named one of Bloomberg’s Top 25 African Startups to Watch (2025), featured in Vogue Business 100 Innovators (2024), and recognised with the Best Brand Storytelling award at Beauty Connect LA; the company has also been named a KPMG Global Tech Innovator in Africa.
Jade and Co-Founder Sneha in Vogue Business
Jade and Sneha in Vogue Business
But Jade’s favourite recognition comes from the beauty community she’s created.
When someone writes a review on one of our products and says it’s changed how they feel about their skin – that’s the best reward.
So what does the future hold? Uncover already has an international presence across Africa, North America and Australia. Further expansion is on the cards, and she’s always looking to collaborate with up-and-coming innovators.
“Tomorrow I’m meeting with a young woman who's building a first-of-its-kind hair removal business in Nigeria. She's so passionate. Her energy reminds me why I started this journey.”
She hopes Uncover has an impact not just commercially, but socially too. “We're trying to change the trajectory of beauty. How do we make melanin-rich skin a priority, and not something that's been adapted for?”
When Jade was younger, she was aware of colourism – the concept that fairer skin is preferable – around her in Nigeria. “And people use harsh, harmful products on themselves to lighten their skin.” She hopes Uncover can build confidence in women to love the skin they have.
“Ultimately, that's the goal. If, a few years down the line, I can step aside and see that women are loving their skin, embracing their natural tone, and no longer feeling pressured to change it. That would be a huge dream.”
Words by Sarah Webb | Photography by Danielle Tocker | Editing and design by Ellie Cawthera
Imperial's Alumni Awards recognise the outstanding achievements of our alumni community and the variety of ways they are making a real impact across the globe.
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