Caïo - Nilotica shea butter

Whereas a lot of people know countries in West Africa to be the main growers of shea trees and suppliers of shea butter the trees are also common in Uganda and South Sudan. Except the trees are not exactly the same. The trees found in East Africa are a subspecies of the common (West African) Vitellaria Paradoxa and go by the latin name Vitellaria Nilotica. The butter derived from the nuts of this subspecies is known as Nilotica shea butter – and it has a smoother and creamier texture and a slightly less nutty aroma than the more common shea butter from West Africa.

This has made Nilotica shea butter an intense moisturizing superfood for skin and hair – and it is quickly gaining ground as a skincare and cosmetics product. Caïo is on a mission to upscale the production of Nilotica shea butter and spread the butter across the globe.

This is good news for lovers of natural, organic and effective skincare products – but also for those who harvest and supply Caïo with shea butter; women in Northern Uganda. 

Caïo was founded by two women who have both lived and worked for years in Uganda – Suzanna Haarbosch and Semine Lykke Brorson – and they see great opportunities arising from partnering with BESTSELLER FOUNDATION.

“We are very excited about the scale-up of our work that we will be able to do with the financing from the BESTSELLER FOUNDATION. It is great to see an investor believe in a truly sustainable business model in which everybody wins: female suppliers who get increased income, the environment and consumers who will access an exceptional quality skin care product,” says Semine Lykke Brorson. 

With a convertible loan BESTSELLER FOUNDATION hopes to provide tailwind to Caïo which will help accelerate the expansion of the business and further build on the good results achieved so far. 

BESTSELLER FOUNDATION’s director, Kristian Sloth Petersen, is pleased to add Caïo to the portfolio saying, “Caïo has the potential to make a real and meaningful difference for women in Northern Uganda – and it is obvious that that’s close to the founders’ hearts. A lot of thought and effort has been put into carefully designing a sound business model that is scalable and with social impact at its core. 

He adds that Caïo is a good fit for the foundation and says, "If the determination and professionalism that Suzanna and Semine display is anything to go by the successful roll-out of the business is more or less guaranteed. In short; we have great expectations to this partnership.”