Anri Powell and Yolande Koupis are dynamic Bloemfontein businesswomen, who own their own companies, ACE Models and Perky Jams respectively. They are a duet who have also collaborated, and are the founders of Miss Free State. Miss Free State is not just a competition about who has the best looks, but that the focus is on ‘Beauty with a purpose’. 

Anri Powell:

As the director as Ace Models Bloemfontein, co-owner of the Miss Free State pageant and a fitness and nutrition coach, Anri is making just as many waves off the runway as she has made on it.

Does she still have to deal with preconceived ideas about models and the modelling world? “Yes!” she laughs. “Every single day.”

“Unfortunately there is a stigma attached to the modelling industry that some people just can’t seem to get past and because these people often never deal with the industry, they never get to test their presumptions against reality. Luckily I have learnt not to be bothered by people with uninformed opinions on what the modelling world is all about,” says Anri.

“I prefer not to get involved in a conversation about it and if I do, I try to remind people that modelling is mostly about teaching children self-confidence. About 80% of people who walk into my studio are not there because they think they are beautiful. They are there because they are trying to discover something worthy about themselves.”

Yolande Koupis:

The daughter of an entrepreneur, Yolandé grew up familiar with the blood, sweat and tears that go into building a business. She explains that she inherited her vim and vigour from her father. “As a businessman I saw how he fell, but stood up again. He taught me how to be strong and how to fight my own battles… and win.”

This self-proclaimed “Daddy’s girl” explains that her father started grooming her in business from a young age. “I started off by working out his workers’ wages. I also ran a mini cash loan business on the side.” As a school girl she used to sell her tuck to make extra money. This ingenuity allowed her to save enough to go to London after finishing her high school education.

In London she unsurprisingly did not fall prey to the party-till-you-drop scene. Instead she worked for a South African who ran a tourism business, which led to them starting a similar business. “We worked like slaves, but it was so much fun! If you live your passion, work becomes an absolute addiction. The more you achieve, the more you want to achieve.”