By Neema Amani, in Kenya
Nigerian model, Oluchi Orlandi was in Nairobi over the weekend scouting for Kenyan beauties that will feature in the first season of Africa’s Next Top Model.
Oluchi her ‘role will be the host and one of the main judges of the show. Keep in mind that this is going to give an exposure and enormous talent that the continent of Africa has.’
Beside the upcoming reality show, Oluchi tells NET she’s working on other projects ‘Both continental and international, I have stuff coming out but it’s best not to talk about them until they actually do come out. Shooting for Duro Olowu a Nigerian designer based in London and he did it in conjunction with JC Penney. That was a great job, very fulfilling for me. Obviously he is one of our own so I enjoyed it more than doing a Prada campaign.’
Speaking about the scouting process in Kenya’s capital Nairobi, the supermodel says she’s ‘overwhelmed by the kind of reception I have received in Kenya. I feel honoured and humbled to be here and I cannot be thankful enough. We have been to Maputo and Johannesburg and now Kenya is our third scouting country. From here we go to Ghana and then Nigeria and Angola. Obviously we chose South Africa as our scouting destination because it is the most structured in the continent of Africa.’
Modelled after the popular Tyra Bank‘s show America’s Next Top Model, the winner of Africa’s Next Top Model will get a one year modelling contract worth USD100,000 and get a cash prize of USD50,000. The show will be filmed in Cape Town
‘The lucky girls will be hosted in South Africa for the filming of the entire show. A beautiful destination, with cosmopolitan cities, trendy nightspots, welcoming people, lively restaurants and a vibrant culture. It’s Africa’s home to glamour, fun, style, shopping, urban life, a lot of TLC, good food and wine, good friendships. It truly offers a beautiful life‘, said Thulani Nzima, Chief Executive Officer at South African Tourism.
Nigerian Entertainment Today gathered that auditions are open to females between 18-27 years old at the time of application with a height of at least 5’7′ (170cm) and without an existing contract with a modeling agency. The competition is open to models of all sizes including Plus-sizes to anyone from any country on the continent.
‘We cannot wait to start filming the series in August in Cape Town and it gives me great pride to bring Africa’s Next Top Model to Africa and even better-we now have our own version of the NTM series. I’m honored to be part of the successful franchise; Africa’s own version of America’s Next Top Model was definitely overdue,’ said Oluchi.
The reality show will follow the supermodel hopefuls from all over the Continent as they strive to prove they have what it takes to make it in the cutthroat world of modeling.
The contestants will be evaluated on a regular basis by an elite panel of judges led by Oluchi. These judges- experts in the industry will narrow down the competition week-to-week until two finalists go head-to-head. In the end, one lucky winner will be selected to become the first ever Africa’s Next Top Model with the show airing on M-Net’s AfricaMagic later this year.
