She never wore the crown but she built the stage. After years in the shadows, Kaone Moremong finally steps into the spotlight, proving pageantry is more power move than pretty parade
GOSEGO MOTSUMI
At the recent Miss Botswana finale, amid glitter, gowns, and gasps, one of the loudest wins came from the quietest corner. Kaone Moremong, long the engine behind the scenes was finally called to the front. No sash. No tiara. Just recognition.
And somehow, it hit harder.
“The award was about recognition… my contribution towards the building and the growth of Miss Botswana,” she told Time Out, reflecting on nearly a decade of shaping a modern pageant machine under the Development Advance Institute (DAI).
VOLUNTEER, VISIONARY, FORCE
Here’s the twist: she did it all for free.
“I was volunteering my services, time, and resources to make sure that Miss Botswana was where it is. I took Miss Botswana like a giving back project to support young girls,” she said.
In an industry often dismissed as surface-level, Moremong’s work tells a different story, one of infrastructure, mentorship, branding, and strategy. From producing shows to chaperoning queens and sharpening PR narratives, she helped transform the pageant into something aspirational, bankable, and culturally relevant.
Her fingerprints are everywhere, even in the rise of queens like Palesa Molefe, who helped reposition the brand as serious business.
MORE THAN JUST A RAMP
“People believe that pageantry is just girls parading on a ramp,” she said. “But it supports so many industries.”
And she’s not wrong. Pageantry is fashion, media, tourism, production, PR—a full ecosystem disguised as glamour. In Botswana, it’s still catching up to its own potential.
THE BIGGER DREAM: BOTSWANA ON DISPLAY
Moremong isn’t thinking small. She’s thinking global runways stretching into international arenas, Botswana as host, not just participant.
“We want to see big platforms like Miss Supranational, Miss Universe… being hosted in Botswana for an entire month.”
It’s a bold vision: millions of eyes on the country, culture packaged not as spectacle but as statement. She points to global events previously hosted in Botswana as proof, it’s possible. It just needs belief, backing, and a shift in mindset.
CROWNING THE FUTURE
Moremong’s honour isn’t just a personal milestone, it’s a signal. That the industry is evolving. That the builders, the believers, the behind-the-scenes architects are finally being seen.