Mrs Universe Africa is a pageant directed by former Miss South Africa 2010, Bokang Montjane Shabalala with the purpose to empower women and uplift communities.
Mrs Universe Africa semi-finalist for 2022, Ezelle Andrews took the time to share what the pageant is about, why she entered, and the community and empowerment projects she is working on.
The 35-year-old knows first-hand the importance of getting help along her Mrs Universe Africa journey as she was retrenched four months ago and started focusing on her start-up – PoweredUp Consulting Services.
Ezelle said her background in technology sales and business development helped her realise the importance of upskilling women and youth for the digital age.
“With the help of technology partners I am planning robotics and coding projects amongst others in local communities. It’s been a passion of mine for several years to uplift and empower, which I’ve done to a small extent through my NPO of choice – the 4change Foundation – and my YouTube channel PoweredUp Talk with Ezelle. I am hoping that through the Mrs Universe platform I can make a bigger difference and would appreciate the opportunity to receive coverage of my journey,” she said.
Ezelle entered the Mrs Universe Africa pageant after coming across a video on social media about the pageant. She admitted to having been intrigued by Bokang who shared her passion for empowering women.
“We get so used to saying ‘I’ll do it later’, but the time is now to fetch your dreams. I knew it was time for me to fetch mine,” Ezelle said.
When asked what changes she was hoping to bring to her community, Ezelle did not hesitate to highlight unemployment being rife in South Africa and added that entrepreneurship must be encouraged.
She will be hosting a free webinar session on January 27 at 19:00 to help aspiring entrepreneurs and those like herself who have just started.
Ezelle grew up in Toekomsrus, Randfontein and moved to Roodepoort with her husband in 2010.
“Should I win Mrs Universe Africa I will use the platform to influence change. As my mentor Dr Maxwell Holland often says ‘the greatest gift you can give someone is a chance to change’. I would like to ask the community to please vote for me as the winner of the People’s Choice award automatically goes through to the Mrs Universe finals.”
Ezelle is also looking for sponsors for her journey, and members of the community who believe in what she stands for and would like to sponsor her can contact Ezelle at ezellea@gmail.com.
Voting method 1:
• Go to the money market counter in-store at Pick n Pay and Boxer stores
• Select contestant No 14
• Choose your bundle (R5, R10, R50 or R100)
• The cashier will cast your votes on the Web Tickets system
• You will receive a voting receipt
Voting method 2:
• Go to Web Tickets online at https://www.webtickets.co.za/v2/Event.aspx?itemid=1510479887
• Search for Mrs Universe Africa Vote
• Select bundle amount (R5, R10, R50 or R100)
• Select contestant No 14
• Pay using credit or debit card
• You will receive a voting receipt
