Visionaries - May 12, 2022

Rihanna is Expanding Her Billion-Dollar Fenty Empire to Africa

May 12, 2022

3 min read

Robyn “Rihanna” Fenty, the famed artist and cosmetics tycoon, has announced her intentions to establish her billion-dollar skincare brand, Fenty Beauty, in Africa. This is part of a strategic effort to expand the business and capitalise on existing prospects on the continent.

According to a tweet from the music star turned beauty magnate, her Fenty Beauty and Fenty Skin cosmetics and skincare brands will be available in Africa, the world’s second-largest continent with over a billion people, on the 27th of May, its official launch date.

Rihanna disclosed that her Fenty beauty products will be available in two of Africa’s top five wealth markets, South Africa and Nigeria, as well as Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

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“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time: Fenty Beauty and Fenty Skin are finally available in Africa – Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. We launch on May 27 and that’s just the beginning”, she wrote.

Rihanna is worth $1.7bn, with an estimated $1.4bn coming from her cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty. The rapidly growing company sells makeup and skincare products on Sephora shelves in the United States, Canada, Mexico, France, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, Singapore, and the Middle East, as well as online to more than 150 countries.

Rihanna’s cosmetics brand debuted in 2017 as part of a collaboration with the French luxury goods group LVMH Mot Hennessy Louis Vuitton. The company’s revenue will top $550 million in 2020.

The cosmetics entrepreneur also has a 30% share in the Savage x Fenty lingerie brand, which got $125 million in a funding round headed by Neuberg Berman in January, bringing its total venture capital funding to $310 million since its launch.