African male beauty pageant Mister Africa, has opened a social media challenge, a step to the next round of the semifinals.

The first runner-up of Mister Elegance Rwanda 2018, Prince Henry Twagira is listed among the contestants to represent Rwanda.

The 20-year-old model will have to make it the top 16 for a pass into the semifinals. Twenty contenders have already been confirmed while six are yet to be announced.

Going by the pageant’s Instagram post, the winner of this challenge will be crowned Mister Popularity and get an "automatic entry to the semi-finals.”

This year’s edition writes an eight year history with a theme ‘Africa: through the looking glass.’ It hopes to highlight some of the problems of the continent and how to use innovation and education to solve it. This is according to TalkMediaAfrica.

For the third time, the coronation ceremony will be held in Lagos, on December 8. The winner will partner with several international communities and travel the world promoting youth empowerment through innovation, education and health initiatives.

Voting can be done on the pageants’ social media page @misterafricainternational, by liking the official picture of your favorite contestant.

Twagira’s participation marks Rwanda’s third presence at Mister Africa International. The first time was in 2015 when the Moshions’ founder and Creative Director, Moses Turahirwa was crowned first runner-up.

In 2017, renowned model, Jay Rwanda, born Jean de Dieu Ntabanganyimana beat his peers and was crowned Mister Africa 2017.

Last year, Rwanda was not represented as the then Mister Elegance Rwanda 2018, Divic Niyirora was struck by a last-minute sickness. The pageant's reigning winner is a Tanzanian model, Calisah Jiwa.

editor@newtimesrwanda.com