Photos: Meet the African Beauty Queens Flying their Flags high at the 71st Miss Universe Pageant

Miss Universe 2022 has officially begun, and the delegates from all over the world are preparing to compete at the 71st edition of the pageantry. This edition will be held at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 14, 2023.

Miss Universe 2021, Harnaaz Sandhu of India, will crown her successor at the end of the event finale.

Eighty-four stunning delegates from all over the world are competing for the Miss Universe 2022 crown. The competition will be hosted by Jeannie Mai and Miss Universe 2012, Olivia Culpo.

Meet the contestants representing African countries and the contestants of African descent.

Miss Universe Angola – Swelia Da Silva Antonio

Age: 25
Instagram: @sweliadsantonio

Swelia Da Silva Antonio is a student of life who believes in togetherness as the key to bridge the gap between people and societies. According to her, the best way to get inspired is by watching relatable examples find success. Therefore, she became the first in her family to graduate with a Master of Science degree in a third language.

Da Silva Antonio runs Better Tomorrow Africa, BTA, as a cofounder. The association is aimed at ameliorating peoples living standards through need-based education and providing practical tools for sustainable and generational benefit. Having suffered bullying and discrimination herself, Da Silva Antonio became sensitive to justice and equality for an early age manifesting particularly in issues pertaining to education, women, and the environment. These themes are areas BTA plans to tackle in future endeavors. She will continue to work her way info diplomacy in order to be a conduit in the advancement and connectivity of her country, Angola.

Miss Universe Nigeria – Hannah Iribhogbe

Age: 21
Instagram: @tharealmontana22

Hannah Iribhogbe is passionate about charity, community service, youth involvement, and women’s empowerment. She’s currently studying business management at North Lake college Dallas, Texas. She’s very passionate about children, specifically young girls, which she shows through her charity advocacy and community service.

She visits orphanage homes all over Nigeria, and herself is responsible for two girls. She is the founder of The Montana Initiative, an organization that works to feed 10 million children all over Africa. She is popularly known by the name Montana Felix, as she prefers to use her father’s last name. “Montana” became a stage name for Hannah when she discovered her many talents in high school, which is the name she also bestowed upon her organization.

Miss Universe Mauritius – Alexandrine Belle-etoile

Age: 25
Instagram: @alex.belleetoile

Alexandrine Belle-Etoile holds a degree in Fine Arts and currently teaches the Arts and French in a private primary school. At 25 years old, Belle-Etoile has modeled professional with several big brands in Mauritius. She is always happy to show the beauty of the arts to others and to share her values and life experiences. She believes that success has no age and starts with talent.

She is passionate about visual arts and has a dream to visit the most renowned museums in the world. She was in awe when she visited the Louvre in France and next on her bucket list is to visit the Galleria dell’Academia in Florence, Italy. Belle-Etoile dreams of creating a school for the arts open to all ages and she is determined to promote this project during her year as the title holder for Mauritius.

Miss Universe Seychelles – Gabriella Gonthier

Age: 24
Instagram: @_gonthier_

Gabriella Gonthier was born in Sydney, Australia but raised in the exquisite archipelago of the Seychelles Islands, specifically on Mahe. Gabriella graduated from University of London with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and a specialization in International Business. Upon graduation she combined her willingness to adapt with her business skills and became a monitoring and evaluation officer responsible for international cooperation at the Ministry of Fisheries and Blue Economy.

After experiencing back to back losses of family members to suicide and undergoing her fair share of anciety and depression, Gabriella became dedicated to starting open conversations on the importance of mental health and suicide prevention to foster safe havens. Her advocacy through the project Semicolon works to bring thoughtfulness and understanding to those struggling with mental health.

Her greatest accomplishments range from being nationally, regionally, and internationally recognized in the fields of ocean governance, academia, and modeling. She has curated a life full of blessings and opportunities while keeping her values at heart. Her life has shaped her into a woman with vision and ambition who is determined to execute her dreams into reality.

Miss Universe Cameroon – Mouketey Lynette Monalisa Jelly

Age: 26
Instagram: @miss_universe_cameroon

Mouketey Lynette Monalisa Jelly is extremely sociable and has a great love for people. She is also very strategic in decision making. She is especially passionate about helping children; she organizes Hope Day, a program that helps primary school children gain access to school necessities. She also works with children who have been victims of war in the South West. She advocated for youth empowerment with a formal presentation to administrative leaders encouraging them to donate school supplies and training workshops to primary schools. Her proudest accomplishment has been launching the Miss Monalisa Charity Foundation which has broadened the impacts of her philanthropic activities. Jelly believes in holding everyone accountable regardless of what one looks like, believes in, or originates from. She considers everyone part of humanity as a whole and believes that that is the basis to a peaceful world.

Miss Universe Ghana – Engracia Mofuman

Age: 27
Instagram: @_engraxiia_

Engracia Afua K. Mofuman is a professional model and a French, English, Spanish, and Portuguese translator. She grew up in Ghana as well as a number of other African countries which spurred an appreciation for various cultures. This led her to pursue a master’s degree in International Relations. Mofuman’s developing teaching career fuels her drive to eliminate illiteracy and better prepare rural children for higher education. She created the #PowerInThePencil Project, a drive aimed at teaching illiterate children in Ghana how to read and write, the most basic form of education.

Moufman volunteers countless hours for a number of causes, one of which is her medical screening program at Nushum Female Prison. Here she works closely with medical experts to give inmates medical attention to curb high incidents of neglected chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes. Moufman is a passionate advocate for beauty in diversity. She aims to empower the world by spreading positivity and diminishing status quo beauty standards. She works tirelessly to promote equality, diversity, and inclusivity in the beauty industry.

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Miss Universe Namibia – Cassia Sharpley

Age: 23
Instagram: @cassiasharpley

Cassia Sharpley is a vibrant, multi-facetted young women with 17 years of experience in the performing arts as a dancer, singer, actor, model, musician, and songwriter. Her passion also lies in the medical field as a paramedic practitioner.

She is the founder and owner of the Honeycomb Haven Foundation Project which advocates for poverty alleviation within the 7de Laan Constituency in Windhoek Namibia. Sharpley was drawn to this cause after witnessing the effects Covid-19 had on the Earth, leaving people in a state of vulnerability, especially when it came to poverty. She feels a social responsibility toward tackling individual, absolute, and generational poverty and works to create physical means of access to basic needs for troubled youth.

Miss Universe South Africa – Ndavi Nokeri

Age: 23
Instagram: @ndavi.nokerii

Ndavi Nokeri was crowned Miss Universe South Africa in August 2022. She has a BCom Investment Management degree from the University of Pretoria and was working for an asset management firm at the time of her crowning.

Nokeri is passionate about advocating for equal educational opportunities for all and is devoting her reign to increasing this awareness. Before earning her title she had already partnered with various organizations to work towards lessening the educational inequality in South Africa through increasing computer literacy in undeveloped schools. As Miss Universe South Africa, she will continue this work with a campaign called Ed-Unite. She believes that pageants give women the platform to advocate for a cause they believe in and lists her role models as Miss Universe 2019 Zozibini Tunzi, former Miss World Rolene Strauss, and her own mother, Betty Nokeri.

Miss Universe Equatorial Guinea – Alba Isabel Obama Moliko

Age: 21
Instagram: @alba_Isabel_Obama

Alba Isabel Obama Moliko is a 21-year-old law student in Equatorial Guinea. She was Miss Supranational Equatorial Guinea in 2019 in which she also won a Supramodel award from Africa. She has participated in the international African textile show where she also took home the top model of Africa award. She is the director and a model monitor of the television program “Equatorial Guinea Top Model.”

Obama Moliko works as a protocol officer for the general secretary of the PDGE, the democratic party of Equatorial Guinea. Working in politics for a girl of her age is very unusual in her country, but she is passionate about law.

Contestants of African descent

Miss Universe Great Britain – Noky Simbani

* Noky Simbani hails from Zimbabwe. In 2001, she moved from Zimbabwe to England with her parents and her younger sister.

Age: 25
Instagram: @nokysimbani

Noky Simbani earned a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from one of the leading institutions in Great Britain. Having worked as an engineer, she is now a qualified chartered banker and currently works on marketing-leading projects to support business growth. As someone who works in male-dominated fields, Simbani is passionate about empowering women to achieve their full potential in their careers. Harnessing her own voice and the voices of others, she launched Boss Bios, a platform which celebrates the achievements of female leaders and encourages others to follow in their footsteps. She also hosts Boss Brunches where she shares practical advice for celebrating successes with conviction.

Outside of her regular work, she is a diversity and inclusion ambassador and a careers ambassador, sharing her career journey with young people across the country to help develop their professional skills. She is also a BAME ambassador for SmartWorks, a charity that provides personal styling, clothing, and coaching for unemployed women. As a representative of the nonprofit organization, A-Sisterhood, she has traveled to India to work with Stop Acid Attacks to raise funds and awareness for their survivors. Simbani also loves to travel and in 2019 embarked on a solo adventure touring 7 countries across Asia and Australia within just six weeks. Drawing, painting, cooking, and baking are amongst her hobbies and talents.

Miss Universe Italy – Virginia Stablum
* Stablum was born in Trento, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy. Her father is of Nigerian and German descent, while her mother is Italian.

Age: 24
Instagram: @Virginia.stablum

Virginia Stablum is a full-time influencer and international model. She’s worked with some of the most prestigious agencies in the United States and Europe including; Elite Miami in Miami, Fashion Model in Milano, and MGM in Hamburg. Since a young age, she has loved languages, and studies in international schools learning English, German, and Spanish. During high school she also studied for a full year in England which taught her independence and an appreciation for other cultures.

Following high school, she dedicated herself to the study of digital marketing and communication. At the same time, she also studied diction and acting for three years while becoming one of the most established beauty and fashion influencers in Italy. Stablum has worked with some of the best beauty brands including Dior Beauty, Shiseido, L’Oreal and Maybelline, but she uses her social media platforms for a purpose. Every year, she collaborates with brands that support women in causes such as violence to breast cancer to financial independence. Stablum believes information is key and values these causes highly

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