Kenya's Tourism Ministry Endorses Africa's Next Super Model

Mrs Joan Okorodudu, Managing Director & CEO, ISIS Models / Africa's Next Super Model, PS Amb. Julius K. Bitok, Principal Secretary, State Department for Tourism and Nailantei Kenga KTN News Journalist

The Principal Secretary's office didn't stop at a letter. A couple of days after the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife put its name behind Africa's Next Super Model 2026 in writing, the girls were welcomed in person — into the same office that signed off on it. The visit followed the Ministry's official endorsement of ANSM 2026 and its recognition of Africa International Fashion Week as a strategic event for tourism and the creative economy, under the government's Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda. PS Amb. Julius K. Bitok's office had already put it in writing: fashion tourism is emerging as a serious complement to Kenya's meetings, conferences, and cultural tourism sectors, and ANSM sits squarely inside that push.

PS Amb. Julius K. Bitok, Principal Secretary and Mrs, Joan Okorodudu, Managing Director & CEO, ISIS Models / Africa's Next Super Model

At the meeting, the PS's office extended an open invitation to the contestants to take part in this year's competition, framing it as part of a bigger story of Kenya positioning itself as a destination for fashion, culture, and investment, not just wildlife. For Joan Okorodudu and the ANSM team, the endorsement moves the platform from "recognized by the industry" to "recognized by the state" — the kind of backing that opens doors with sponsors, embassies, and international press that a letter alone doesn't.

Africa's Next Super Model 2026 heads into its Grand Finale on November 21 in Nairobi.