Staff Reporter
MODEL, ‘Malijeng Ntele, will be contesting in the Miss Premium Africa pageant in Nigeria.
The event will be held in Port Harcourt, Nigeria on 30 October 2021. However, models are expected in Nigeria for the bootcamp on 15 October.
The Johannesburg-based model told the Weekender this week that she was busy preparing for the event.
The Miss Premium Africa pageant is centred on promoting African culture, tourism, social and cultural integration, peace promotion, talent and skills acquisition and development, capacity building for self-reliance, self-employment and empowerment of young female’s in the continent of Africa.
“The Miss Premium Africa beauty pageant is not solely focused on just crowning beauty queens but is also aimed at assisting female youths showcase their beautiful culture and tourism opportunities in Africa,” a statement from the organisers reads.
“We aim to bring up young and patriotic ambassadors for peace and development in Africa at large. We also aim at redefining pageantry at large by producing queens with integrity and purpose driven mindset.”
The 24-year-old is the reigning Miss Premium Africa Lesotho holder. Therefore, she will represent Lesotho next month.
The Leribe born model told the Weekender that she was introduced to the pageant by her friend in July this year.
“I was introduced to the pageant by my friend, who is also the owner of African Fashion and Arts Festival (AFAF), Lorraine Kljajić. AFAF is a fashion show which I attended in Malawi in 2019. It is one of the many I’ve attended since the beginning of my modelling career in 2017,” Malijeng said.
“I have also participated in Fashion Meets Music Lesotho 2017, the Lesotho Fashion Week 2018/19 and Ubuntu Fashion Week 2020 in Zambia.
“I have contested in two pageants and became Miss NUL 2017 Top 5 and Miss Maseru 2018 Top 10. My first pageantry experience was Miss NUL 2016/17 and my first runway modelling experience was Fashion Meets Music Lesotho 2017.”
Malijeng said she was working hard to ensure her growth on the African modelling scene.
“I’d like to grow as a model and make an impact beyond Lesotho and possibly globally. It may not necessarily be about me being in stage. It also means I could start grooming and helping younger models achieve their dreams by aiding their growth,” she said.
Already involved in some agricultural projects in Lesotho, she also wants to invest more into the sector. Currently, she is running a sheep and a tomato project at her Ha-Motšoane, in Leribe while she is also involved in subsistence crop production.
“I’d like to grow my agricultural projects by going large scale and possibly invest in different countries. This is my way of ensuring that I make a positive impact on poverty reduction, food security and employment creation. These are some of the biggest challenges in many countries currently.
“I am deeply in love with entrepreneurship therefore, I want to expand and become involved in different initiatives,” Malijeng said.
