Tiyani Makamu has been crowned Miss South Africa 2026, taking home the prestigious title at a glittering finale held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on Saturday, 14 November.
The 27-year-old, who hails from Bronkhorstspruit in Gauteng, succeeds Qhawekazi Mazaleni as the new titleholder, beginning her reign as one of South Africa’s prominent ambassadors for female leadership and empowerment.
Who is Tiyani Makamu, Miss South Africa 2026?
Makamu is a group digital lead and client success executive, as well as the founder of Hubsela, a platform dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses.
Her work and advocacy focus on entrepreneurship, skills development, youth unemployment and expanding access to education and economic opportunities.
Through her professional work and business initiatives, she has highlighted the importance of creating opportunities for young people and supporting small businesses.
Tiyani Makamu on turning promises into action
During the final question-and-answer round, the Top Three finalists were asked how they would bridge the gap between identifying solutions to South Africa’s challenges and ensuring those solutions were implemented.
Makamu emphasised the importance of collaboration and partnerships between the public and private sectors, arguing that meaningful change requires different industries and stakeholders to work together.
“The challenge lies in partnerships. We can identify the challenge, it is the responsibility of others to form the system that solves the challenge,” she said.
She added that bringing together the public sector, corporate businesses and various industries would be key to addressing the country’s challenges.
“Through collaboration and partnership, we build systems that follow through and have a clear path to our flexibility and key performance indicators,” she said.
What does Miss South Africa 2026 win?
As the newly crowned Miss South Africa, Makamu walks away with a R1 million cash prize, alongside R500,000 in dedicated impact funding to support her initiatives.
The combined R1.5 million package will provide financial support as she takes on the responsibilities associated with the title and advances her social impact work.
Her victory comes amid a renewed focus by the Miss South Africa organisation on leadership, entrepreneurship and social impact as central pillars of the titleholder’s responsibilities.
Makamu now begins her reign with a platform to champion the issues she has highlighted, including youth unemployment, entrepreneurship and access to economic opportunities.