Olamide Olowe, a 26-year-old Nigerian entrepreneur, is at the forefront of developing a skincare brand that creates safe, effective products for all skin tones with the goal of assisting people with chronic skin conditions such as hyperpigmentation in coping with their skin conditions.
Olowe, a serial entrepreneur and recent graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), has firsthand experience with chronic skin conditions. She was also a co-founder of SheaGIRL, a Sundial Brands subsidiary that is now owned by Unilever.
Her interest in developing skincare products for people with chronic skin has led her to become one of the world’s youngest businesswomen and the youngest Black woman to raise $10 million in venture capital.
Topicals, her skincare company founded in August 2020, creates safe and effective skincare products for all skin tones and has become Sephora’s fastest-growing skincare brand.
The skincare company recently received $10 million in funding led by consumer-focused investment firm CAVU Consumer Partners. Olowe intends to use the funds to expand the company, raise brand awareness through product campaigns on TikTok and Instagram, and develop products to treat chronic skin conditions such as hyperpigmentation, eczema, and psoriasis.
She also stated that the $10 million in funding will be used to launch a 12-month accelerator program to support nonprofits in the mental health space, as mental health advocacy is an important focus for Topicals and its Gen-Z customers.
With this latest round of funding, Topicals has now raised a total of $15 million in venture funding. Olowe’s dedication to building a socially conscious brand and her focus on inclusivity have undoubtedly contributed to the success of Topicals and her own success as a young entrepreneur.
In an interview with Forbes, Olowe shared her advice for young people with entrepreneurial aspirations, stating: “Don’t even consider what you can’t do, just ask why not me?” Olowe, who was included on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for 2022 after raising $2.6 million for Topicals, is a true inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs everywhere.
