South African Lifestyle Startup Brown and Ayo raises $276k funding from Enygma Ventures

South African haircare startup Brown and Ayo have announced it raised $276k in funding from female-focused VC firm Enygma Ventures.

Brown and Ayo were founded in 2019 by Acanda Jaswa, as a hair brand focused on inspiring natural hairstyles and trends for black women in South Africa. The startup has since provided a variety of natural hairstyles created to mimic black natural hair textures through its online store.

Enygma Ventures is a US venture capital company that invests in selected startups and SMEs in Africa. In April 2021, the venture firm made a call for female-owned African startups to apply for funds. It has now backed Brown and Ayo to help it grow.

Acanda Jaswa, founder of Brown and Ayo speaking on the funding expressed joy as she said that the fund will enable the startup scale.

“We are overjoyed about our partnership with Enygma Ventures which provides both financial and strategic support. This will allow us to execute on our vision to scale across Africa and globally.

“As a solo black female founder operating outside of traditional technology, my odds for raising significant VC funding were low. It is thus very exciting to be backed by Enygma Ventures and their diverse team that understand this exciting sector and have been extremely valuable in supporting me to think strategically about growing my business” said Acanda.