The hugely popular beauty brand Fenty Beauty and skincare line Fenty Skin will be made available in eight African countries from 27 May: Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The star took to both Twitter and Instagram to make the announcement on Tuesday May 11: “[I]’ve been waiting for this moment!! @fentybeauty & @fentyskin are finally dropping in AFRICA!!!”, part of the caption for both platforms reads. 

Many African Twitter users have expressed excitement in response to the news, with some pitching themselves and other women as potential brand ambassadors for their regions. 

Rihanna, whose full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, launched Fenty Beauty on 8 September 2017, in a partnership with luxury goods company LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton).

According to critics, the release “revolutionized the beauty industry”, with the initial foundation collection offering 40 shades and a heavy focus on diversity and inclusion. The product line of foundations has since expanded to 50 shades.

The makeup launch generated an estimated 100 million USD (c. £73 million) in its first 40 days on the market. 

Fenty Skin officially launched on 31 July 2021 as an extension of the Fenty Beauty offering.

According to Forbes, in 2021, the entire Fenty operation was worth at least 2.8 billion USD, with Rihanna owning a 50% stake as CEO.