Face of Africa is a continental model talent search that began in 1998. The first winner was Nigerian Oluchi Onweagba.
The initiative ran for four years from 1998 - 2001.
Previous winners are:
1998
- Oluchi Inweagba
1999
- Benvinda Mudenge from Namibia
2000
- Nombulelo Mazibuko from South Africa
2001
- Ramatoulaye Diallo from Senegal
The Face of Africa search rested for three years before returning in 2005. It was rebranded Nokia Face Of Africa.
After a cross-continental search that ran for 10 months, Botswana-born Kaone Kario was announced the winner at the Nokia Face of Africa 2005 Final held at Sun City on 10 July.
Kaone walked away with a modelling contract from elite Model Management in New York valued at USD$ 125,000.
Entry Requirements
Any female from anywhere in Sub-Saharan Africa, who is a citizen of a country in sub-Saharan Africa, could enter the Nokia Face of Africa 2006 provided she was between the age of 17 and 24 (as of 31 August 2006); was at least 1.74m tall and had a maximum hip measurement of 36 inches.
Casting
The would-be contestants attended castings in one of 13 specified cities:
Accra (Ghana), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Cape Town (South Africa), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Gaborone (Botswana), Johannesburg (South Africa), Kampala (Uganda), Kigali (Rwanda), Lagos (Nigeria), Luanda (Angola), Lusaka (Zambia), Nairobi (Kenya) and Windhoek (Namibia).
The Selection Process
The selection team - consisting of scouting judges Vicky Cursham and Andiswa Manxiwa - evaluated entrants during casting sessions in the 13 specified cities. Thereafter 17 semi-finalists were selected to participate in a special second selection round.
At this stage the Top 10 finalists were decided.
These finalists will participate in the Nokia Face of Africa 2006 Final at Sun City in South Africa on 13 August. The final will be screened on M-Net and AfricaMagic to over 40 countries in Africa.
Prizes
The winner of the competition will walk away with an international modeling career, courtesy of elite Model Management.
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