CELEBRATING A MILESTONE OF A 10 YEAR PLATFORM OF COMMUNITY CHANGERS

CELEBRATING A MILESTONE OF A 10 YEAR PLATFORM OF COMMUNITY CHANGERS

Mister Africa International is the longest,African male pageant till date. With at least 8 candidates have been previously  crowned as Kings. We celebrate a platform that was ‘created not only to build the confidence  of the winners but of community changers. 

In an exclusive moment with the patron of Mister Africa International and House of Twitch , Ayotunde Twitch who shares with us some of the fonding memories of 

Mister Africa International  since the pageant was founded and how Africa has benefited from the projeft. 

Q.Firstly let me congratulate you for turn 10 years,what does it mean that you have achieved a decade in the pageant ?A.I am elated and beyond grateful to God and everyone who made the event possible.  When we started , we did not even think we were going to survive more than 5 years but to stay this long and get stronger , we are excited. 

Q.Take us to the first Mister Africa International  pageant what was the vision of the pageant?A.We were inspired by the amazing work international pageants were doing and as such  we wanted  to create a similar platform for Africans. We wanted a platform that would project a young African into the eyes of the World and launch his entertainment and modeling career.I am happy we have been able to do that in the last few years. 

Q.Have you managed to achieve those achievements and how have they benefited the African boychild?A.We have a huge support system from the national directors in each country. Each year before the candidate comes to the finale, they would have embarked on projects and initiatives in their country. Because our projects are centered around talent and education, we have been able to provide scholarships to the boy child as in the case of 2020 winner, Emmanuel Umoh and even built a school as in the case of Akol Dok in South Sudan 2016 . 

Q.Many in Africa believe modeling is about masculinity and nudity do you believe MAI has managed to bring a positive picture of what modeling is all about in Africa?A.Mister Africa International in a year travels to a different country to embark on a project and also in some cases have walked on the biggest runway shows in the world including New York  , London, Accra  and Lagos . All these inspire the younger generation to grow up knowing they can achieve anything as long as they set their mind to it. The Mister Africa International aims to be aspirational and with the wonderful works of our past title holders we have been able to do that in the last few years.

Q.We have seen from the previous  winners and current winner,unlike other modeling pageants you have pushed them to  reaching out to communities before and after the pageant why is it important? A.We created the platform to not only build the confidence of the winners but to also ensure that they leave the title better than they came in and that requires some work on our part . Thanks to our long standing relationship with producers and agencies who ensure that the winner is always kept busy and growing . We particularly want to thank Hadja models for grooming and managing our current winner, Eryvaldo .

Q.What has been the main challenge that you faced  in the beginning  and its  still an obstacle?

A.The first is getting more countries to participate.Although for a regional pageant we have done great , with over 30 countries having participated one time or the other. In 2019 , we had 25 countries participate and it was a fun time but there is still much work to be done . Secondly is financial support , we have so many projects we want to embark on and we need to support to be able to do this .

Q.Among the previous kings title holders who stood out for you and why (lol)?A. That’s a hard question ! everyone has brought their unique gifts to progress of the pageant.Its notable to state no two winners have been the same or had the same purpose , but they have all added immensely to the growth of the competition 

Q.This year the celebrations  are in Angola why?A.Part of our mandate is to promote tourism in Africa . Each year, we create campaigns with the candidates promoting the city or country we are producing the show.  Angola  has produced two of the winners of the Mister Africa International,the only country to do so and we are happy to share the beauty of Angola with the world . 

Q.What words do you have to the MIA team?A.The MAI team is just amazing! Even though over the years it has evolved , they are all amazing people . I have been blessed to have the perfect team.

Q.Laslty what should we expect to witness in the next ten years?A.We are working on more opportunities for the winner and also the runner up. So expect more stars to be created from the MAI platform.