JOHANNESBURG, South Africa —Tiyani Makamu is a South African communications professional, entrepreneur and youth advocate who won Miss South Africa 2026 on 14 November. From Bronkhorstspruit in Gauteng, she came to the competition with a career in digital communications and a focus on helping entrepreneurs build sustainable businesses.
The Miss South Africa Organisation’s winner announcement identifies her as 27. Her victory at the Sandton Convention Centre gives a national platform to interests she had already developed through her business, Hubsela, and community work.
Who is Tiyani Makamu? Tiyani Makamu is Miss South Africa 2026, a communications professional and entrepreneur from Bronkhorstspruit, Gauteng. Identified by the organiser as 27 at her crowning, she founded Hubsela to support entrepreneurs. Her advocacy focuses on business development, skills, youth unemployment and access to education and economic opportunities.
Her education and communications career
Makamu is a graduate of Pearson Institute of Higher Education, according to her official Miss South Africa profile. The profile lists her professional roles as group digital lead and client success executive.
Those details establish the professional background she brought to the competition. Her public identity combines employment in communications with entrepreneurship and advocacy, rather than beginning with the title itself.
Her education and job titles are part of that story, but her stated motivation centres on the use of the platform: opportunities to speak about business development and contribute to programmes for women and young people.
Hubsela and her interest in small businesses
Hubsela is the platform Makamu founded to support entrepreneurs and help small businesses grow sustainably. Her pre-finale profile in Time Out Johannesburg connects that work with helping businesses gain tools, systems and support.
Her advocacy brings together entrepreneurship, skills development and access to knowledge. These are related concerns: an aspiring business owner may need more than an idea, while an existing business may need support to become ready for growth or funding.
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Who is Tiyani Makamu? Age, career and Miss South Africa win
Nov 15, 2026
Nov 15, 2026
7 min read
Published
Updated:
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa —Tiyani Makamu is a South African communications professional, entrepreneur and youth advocate who won Miss South Africa 2026 on 14 November. From Bronkhorstspruit in Gauteng, she came to the competition with a career in digital communications and a focus on helping entrepreneurs build sustainable businesses.
The Miss South Africa Organisation’s winner announcement identifies her as 27. Her victory at the Sandton Convention Centre gives a national platform to interests she had already developed through her business, Hubsela, and community work.
Who is Tiyani Makamu? Tiyani Makamu is Miss South Africa 2026, a communications professional and entrepreneur from Bronkhorstspruit, Gauteng. Identified by the organiser as 27 at her crowning, she founded Hubsela to support entrepreneurs. Her advocacy focuses on business development, skills, youth unemployment and access to education and economic opportunities.
Her education and communications career
Makamu is a graduate of Pearson Institute of Higher Education, according to her official Miss South Africa profile. The profile lists her professional roles as group digital lead and client success executive.
Those details establish the professional background she brought to the competition. Her public identity combines employment in communications with entrepreneurship and advocacy, rather than beginning with the title itself.
Her education and job titles are part of that story, but her stated motivation centres on the use of the platform: opportunities to speak about business development and contribute to programmes for women and young people.
Hubsela and her interest in small businesses
Hubsela is the platform Makamu founded to support entrepreneurs and help small businesses grow sustainably. Her pre-finale profile in Time Out Johannesburg connects that work with helping businesses gain tools, systems and support.
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Her advocacy brings together entrepreneurship, skills development and access to knowledge. These are related concerns: an aspiring business owner may need more than an idea, while an existing business may need support to become ready for growth or funding.
The emphasis is on building the conditions for businesses to last. That is the purpose described in her public profile; it should be distinguished from a claim that every proposed activity has already produced jobs or secured investment.
Makamu also served on the board of the Mfudumalo Foundation. The same pre-finale account records her contribution to community work that included establishing a library in Ivory Park. Education and access to knowledge therefore appear alongside enterprise in her documented background.
Why she entered Miss South Africa
Makamu told Eyewitness News after her victory that the competition’s emphasis on leadership encouraged her to enter.
She described growing up in a conservative home where pageants were not a familiar activity. After an earlier pageant experience, her attention had shifted to her career. The organisation’s presentation of Miss South Africa as a leadership platform gave her a reason to reconsider.
Describing that connection, she said:
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“It's a leadership platform. And that set me on fire because it aligned with who I am.”
Her explanation helps connect the businesswoman and the titleholder. She saw the competition as an opportunity to bring her existing interests to a wider audience, rather than a departure from them.
Her route to the 2026 title
The organiser’s Top 24 announcement in June 2026 included Makamu among the candidates. By late October, she was among the final 12 preparing for the national finale.
She won at the Sandton Convention Centre on 14 November, succeeding Qhawekazi Mazaleni. The organiser confirmed the result in its announcement the following day.
Year | Event | Significance |
June 2026 | Named among the Top 24 | Entered the organiser’s announced finalist group |
October 2026 | Featured among the Top 12 | Advanced to the group preparing for the finale |
14 November 2026 | Won Miss South Africa | Became the national titleholder |
15 November 2026 | Organiser published her winner announcement | Set out her advocacy and the responsibilities accompanying the title |
What she wants to do with the platform
Makamu’s stated goal is to help women entrepreneurs bridge gaps in access to opportunities, business development and funding. Her plans emphasise skills and financial readiness, with women and youth at the centre of the work.
The title also brings responsibilities through Empower Youth Africa. The organiser’s programme FAQs describe EYA as its social-impact and leadership-development programme, covering areas including education, entrepreneurship, health and community upliftment.
The winner becomes a full-time ambassador and participates in programmes and campaigns. Makamu’s entrepreneurship focus will sit within that wider framework. Specific activities and their results will show how her stated priorities develop during her tenure.
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Tiyani Makamu FAQs
How old is Tiyani Makamu?
The Miss South Africa Organisation identifies Makamu as 27 in its November 2026 winner announcement. That is her reported age at the time of her crowning.
Where is she from?
She is from Bronkhorstspruit in Gauteng, South Africa. That hometown is given in her official competition profile and the organiser’s winner announcement.
Where did Tiyani Makamu study?
She is a graduate of Pearson Institute of Higher Education. Her official profile identifies the institution alongside her communications and client-success roles.
What is Hubsela?
Hubsela is the platform she founded to support entrepreneurs and small businesses. It forms part of her focus on sustainable business development and economic participation.
What community work has she done?
Her documented background includes service on the Mfudumalo Foundation board and a contribution to the establishment of a community library in Ivory Park.
When did she win Miss South Africa?
Makamu won on 14 November 2026 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. She succeeded Qhawekazi Mazaleni as the national titleholder.
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