- National pageantry hosts inaugural Mindset Change-Driven Aesthetics and Beauty Expo
- Keynote speaker: “We can’t continue to be the consumers of what we do not produce”
GOSEGO MOTSUMI
With the beauty industry a multi-billion Pula industry that can add to diversifying the economy, Miss Botswana is an all-encompassing platform of telling this story because in addition to the country being home to the world’s most expensive diamonds, it has some of the most beautiful and intelligent women in the world.
This was said by the Executive Director of Miss Botswana, Ben Raletsatsi, at the pioneering Mindset Change-Driven Aesthetics and Beauty Expo that took place at Rail Park Mall in Gaborone recently.
Cornerstone
“When I took over Miss Botswana – which was accidental, by the way – I decided that we needed to ensure that we do this pageantry right to showcase what we are capable of, hence the expo to bring together brands as a cornerstone of sustaining what we are doing,” he said at the expo.
“The beauty industry is something we are trying to build, and it is valued at about US$700 billion. So we want to ensure that we have players in this industry.”
Delivering the keynote address, the National Director of Miss World South Africa, Carol Bouwer, said the expo is as an important event for the fiscals of Africa as the continent is not growing at the rate at which the number of its people is growing.
Vitality
Yet Africa is the youngest continent and therefore has no reason to be lagging behind because youth means vitality. Bouwer said the talents and wisdom of Africans is not just in those who have gone before but in harnessing knowledge and imparting it on the next generation for a better Botswana.
“I want the girls participating in this pageantry to see themselves beyond being beauty queens but as ambassadors of the business of Africa and presiding over the future of the next generation of Batswana,” she said.
“Miss World Africa, Lesego Chombo, achieved her success because when she landed in India, she understood that she was there as an ambassador of a nation that is capable, that is filled with smart, hardworking, beautiful people who want to impact the world.
L‘Oreal’s 41.1bn euros
“By harnessing the gifts that you have naturally, you can really improve the fortunes of your people.”
Bouwer, who was also a Miss Botswana 2024 judge, shared that in 2023, L‘Oreal’s overall sales reached 41.1 billion euros, and wondered why Africans are not big players in the beauty space when Africa is the main focus for L‘Oreal because the company knows that Africans love beauty and aesthetics.
“But we can’t continue to be the consumers of what we do not produce,” she emphasised. “So when this expo happens, it is imperative that we scream loud and ensure that it grows and succeeds for our people.
“We want to see Batswana represented in their numbers, not as consumers only but as people who are making products.”
A significant milestone
The expo marked a significant milestone for Miss Botswana as it expands the company’s commitment to empowering and celebrating beauty in all its forms.
Attendees had an opportunity to engage with international and local beauty and aesthetic brands, forging connections and discovering the latest trends and innovations shaping the industry.