The Miss Universe beauty pageant is fast approaching and features a number of contestants from Africa. Among the contestants are Ethiopia's Maheder Tigabe and Ghana's Hanniel Jamin.

Tigabe was born in Addis Ababa and is listed as being 5'11". The 19-year-old is currently a mechanical engineering student at Mekelle University in Ethiopia and reportedly has an interest in reading, gardening, tutoring children, and watching documentaries. According to the official Miss Universe website, Tigabe has a black belt in taekwondo, which she practiced for five years. She also used to engage in traditional Eskesta dance during her high school years and enjoys collecting stamps from her travels.

Jamin is also 19 years old and hails from Accra. Despite being born in Ghana, Jamin moved to Nigeria as a youth and grew up there. She recently graduated from Senior Secondary School and has developed a passion for singing. she reportedly continues to take voice lessons on a continual basis and hopes to become a professional singer at some point in her future. The official Miss Universe website lists fried chicken and jollof rice as her favorite meal and also notes that Jamin only wears heels. Jamin's quote on the website is "Ghana is the gateway to Africa."

The Miss Universe beauty pageant will be held at Crocus City Hall in Moscow Russia on Nov. 9, 2013. The current title holder is Rhode Island native Olivia Culpo, who will crown her successor. Africa won the title in 2011 when Angola's Leila Lopes won the pageant.