A YOUNG Glasgow woman has set out on a fundraising mission to help those impacted by coronavirus in her bid to become a beauty queen.

Chinyanta Kabaso has vowed to raise as much as possible for the Haringey Giving project, as part of the fundraising portion of the Miss Africa Great Britain 2020 competition.

The 23-year-old will compete against 48 other women from across the UK, who hail from the continent, next month.

Chinyanta will be tested on her fundraising abilities and interview skills, as well as her evening gown wear, through a live stream on the pageant's website.

It's a new world for the chemical engineering graduate, who has never competed before, but she hopes she can use the competition to change the lives of others.

She said: "Everything is online because of coronavirus, so at first I was just sending a video from my room and that was fine, but when it all became real, it was so daunting.

"It's quite terrifying but it's a really charity work-led competition so that drew me to it and it has improved my confidence so much because I've been reaching out to companies and speaking to different people.

"It is frightening but I'm really glad I've done it because it's helped me do things I would never have done before."

Chinyanta moved to Glasgow from Zambia with her family when she was just 11-years-old and now describes herself as a "Scottish African" - having spent half her life in each of the two countries.

If Chinyanta, who lives in Darnley with her parents and younger siblings, wins the coveted crown, she will be awarded a trip to her home nation.

There, she plans to put her degree to good use by helping to solve the country's unemployment problems.

She said: "We normally go every two years, but haven't been able to go over this year because of the pandemic.

"It would be incredible to get back and I would love to use my degree to teach young people about using computers and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) because the unemployment levels are really bad.

"There's lots of different things that I would love to do in the country but I really think I could help with and get people into work."

Chinyanta has set up a GoFundMe page and plans to hold an online raffle with items donated from businesses across the city in a bid to raise the cash for the pageant's charity.

Once fundraising concludes on August 31, she progresses to the next round of live events to be streamed via the pageant website throughout the September before the grand final on October 2.

"I would definitely recommend it to others," she said.

"It's been great for getting me out of my comfort zone and meeting new people, even just with our contestant group chat."

To follow Chinyanta's journey through the competition, visit missafricagb.com or, to donate, visit her GoFundMe page.