Miss Earth Zimbabwe 2020 taps into mining

By Ndanatsiwa Tagwireyi

“Pageants encourage goal setting and will motivate a candidate to explore her soul, consider the future, and devise a strategy for getting there. The pageant can sometimes serve as a stepping stone towards achieving those objectives,” Sanjeev Datta Personality School holds.

This brings to attention how modelling and pageantry has evolved over the years to not only focus on beauty and cat walking but to build strong men and women who have the power to change the world through various innovations.  The mantra in modern day pageantries is ‘Beauty with brains’ indicating that contestants are no longer judged on beauty and physical appearance only.

Such is the case of Miss Earth Zimbabwe 2020 and Miss Midlands Show 2018 Tinokunda Moyo (26) who leveraged on the titles she got to tap into the mining value chain by setting up Gmatical Environmental and Mining Consultancy company in 2020.  The establishment focuses attention on assisting miners to formalize their operations by registering mining claims, designing siting of work plans and tracking mine boundaries. It also does Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) on mining projects, offer safety trainings and environmental quarterly audits.

After winning the Miss Midlands Show 2018, Moyo went on to win Miss Earth Zimbabwe in 2020; a title which took her to an international stage representing Zimbabwe at Miss Earth Global competitions. Miss Earth is an international beauty pageant that focuses on environmental conservation hence participating in it was so fulfilling to her as a graduate of Geography and Environmental studies

 She said: “It was an amazing experience to be an Environmental advocate for my country on a global platform.”

Moyo says she does not regret participating in pageants as they aided her on her journey motif of becoming the founder and CEO of Gmatical Environmental and Mining Consultancy company based in Gweru. She also exhibited her company products and services at the 2022 Mine Entra.

According to her, the name ‘Gmatical’ was a combination of names of individuals who initially wanted to be part of the company including herself; others lost interest and she held on to the dream by registering the company.

“The success of my career as the founder and CEO of Gmatical Mining and Environmental Consultancy is rooted in my participation in pageantry hence beauty contests like Miss Midlands show will always constitute part of our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs,” she said. “This year we have awarded Mr and Miss Midlands show free registration of mining claims as well as a high end Magazine shoot in collaboration with Light Art media to heighten our models’ visibility to attract more opportunities for them in the modeling industry.”

Her first job at Eden SHEQ Private Limited gave her practical experience on environmental consultancy issues in Zimbabwe’s extractive sector. During the time she was at Eden SHEQ, she majored in mining law as most projects undertaken there were related to mining.

She admits that working in a male dominated environment has got its challenges, but the goal is to keep soldiering on. Gmatical Mining Engineering and Consultancy CEO implored other women to take challenges as opportunities that can make them reach great heights in the mining value chain.

“Working in a male dominated field to me is exciting in the sense that it gives me a challenge and an opportunity to prove to the world that women can do it,” she said. “Penetrating into the industry was difficult at first but I was carried by the dream and passion to make a difference, I don’t regret, and I implore women to take part in the mining value chain.”

Moyo told the Mining Vision Magazine that starting a mining consultancy company had its own downside risks judging from the skepticism that she faced from clients who judged her based on being a young woman in the field compared to those with many years of experience. However, this did not deter her from moving on by working extra hard to prove her capabilities.

“We have grown to be a force to reckon with in the industry,” the young CEO said

“If your dreams are in the mining sector, go for it without hesitation. All it takes is hard work, determination, consistency and an entrepreneurial mindset and the world is yours,” she advised

Moyo’s achievement sets pace for other young women in the Midlands Province and beyond. The interface between arts, pageantries and modelling should be leveraged on to unlock opportunities in various value chains in Zimbabwe. It is not longer about doing it for leisure’s sake.

In the next five years, Moyo says her company would have achieved world class status when it comes to service providing. “We hope to have branched out throughout the country and even overseas providing services which are in line with international best practices in mining, safety, health